Juaben (Ash), July 23, GNA- Boards and managements of rural banks have been told to be innovative, dedicated and honest in the administration of the banks. They are to be bold in initiating policies that would enable the banks to attract new customers and maintain existing ones.

Mr Boyd Donkor, Deputy Chief Manager of the Banking Supervision Division of the Bank of Ghana (BOG), made the call at the 18th Annual General Meeting of the Juaben Rural Bank at Juaben in Ashanti on Tuesday. He pointed out that the banking public would look out for banks with improved customer service, honest and dedicated staff and products that were customer focused.

This calls for dedicated and pragmatic policies including comprehensive human resource development that would foster an efficient and enhance growth of the bank. The BOG, Mr Donkor said, will continue to perform its banking supervisory functions to ensure the safety and efficiency of the banking system.

Any operational lapses, weaknesses or inadequacies in the internal control system of the banks would be highlighted for the attention of the board and management whose responsibility is to address the lapses. Mr Donkor said it had, however, been observed that some rural banks do not institute the necessary corrective measures to reduce operational lapses. He, therefore, asked managements to take note of concerns raised by BOG in its examination reports and implement all recommendations promptly.

In his report, Nana Awuah Darko Ampem I, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said the bank made a net profit before tax of 1.5 billion cedis as against 478.1 million cedis in 2001, representing an increase of 110 percent. He said total deposits rose from 7.5 billion cedis in 2001 to 14.2 billion cedis while advances also rose from 4.5 billion cedis to 6.5 billion cedis in 2002. Investment shot up from 4.4 billion cedis in 2001 to 8.2 billion cedis while the bank's total assets now stood at 11.1 billion cedis.

Nana Awuah Darko said total credits increased from 4.6 billion cedis to 6.6 billion cedis in 2002 and the bank granted loans totalling 157.5 million cedis to nine groups engaged in kente weaving and cocoa farming to create jobs in the communities and increase food production. The Board Chairman announced that the bank had set aside 50 million cedis for scholarships to brilliant but needy students of shareholders in the bank's catchment areas who are in Junior and Senior Secondary Schools.Modalities for the selection of the candidates, he said, would be advertised in the dailies.

Mr Kwame Dapaa-Siakwan, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Association of Rural Banks (ARB), announced that the association was now going to enforce the company's code rigidly to ensure sanity in the appointment of boards of the banks. He said after 20 years of rural banking in Ashanti, the time had come for things to be done properly. Mr Dapaa-Siakwan said it had been realised that the major problem of rural banks in Ashanti was with the appointment of directors. He said the ARB had also proposed End-of-Service (ESB) for directors of rural banks for the services they render to their banks. Nana Otuo Sereboe II, Juabenhene, who chaired the function, commended the board, management and staff for the achievement and urged them to continue to render very good services to shareholders. He asked all those in the bank's catchment areas who had not bought shares to do so to enable the bank to have enough capital.