Accra, Oct. 6,GNA - Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama on Thursday asked the Management of Standard Chartered Bank (STANCHART) to increase access to banking services especially in rural Ghana that was at only 10 per cent. He said the innovation would encourage people to save and raise the needed capital for investment.

Vice President Alhaji Mahama shared these views with the visiting Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, in Africa, Mr Sherazan Mazari at the Castle Osu. He said efforts of the Government to improve on the macro-economy, the falling prime rate of the banks and the stable national currency provided an enabling environment for the multinational Bank to support entrepreneurs and other investors.

Vice President Alhaji Mahama asked Mr Mazari to help to attract investors to Ghana, which he said was a win-win situation because Corporate Ghana and the Bank would be the beneficiaries. Sounding reassuring, Mr Mazari said the Bank considered the support of Small and Medium Enterprises as its greatest priority. He said better access to credit for the agricultural sector and boosting of the local capital market would be tackled. Mr Mazari said STANCHART was liaising with the Governor of the Bank of Ghana to move the initiative forward.