Wamfie (B/A), Dec 1, GNA- Mr. E.K. Kwapong, Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank, at the weekend urged rural banks to step up their deposit mobilization efforts and expand their credit delivery programmes. He said as the Bank of Ghana had reduced the secondary reserve requirement from 52 percent to between 20 percent and 30 percent of total deposits, it was expected that funds would be given out as credit to people in productive ventures. Mr Kwapong said this in a speech read for him at the 20th anniversary celebration and 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Wamfie Rural Bank Limited at Wamfie in Brong Ahafo. He said the Apex Bank would establish five branches by the end of 2005 to enable it to deliver more services to the rural banks. Three of them will be established in 2004 in Takoradi, Kumasi and Bolgatanga and two more in 2005 in Sunyani and

Mr Kwapong said the Apex Bank had initiated various actions to improve the skills of staff of rural banks to enable them to effectively assist people in their catchment areas to develop. These include adequate training programmes and the computerization of the banks to enhance the performance of staff.

Mr Kwapong announced that the Apex Link Product, launched four months ago for the transfer of funds by the rural banks across the country, had been highly patronized and urged the people to take advantage of the product and save with the rural banks.

He congratulated the Wamfie Rural Bank on its 20 years in active service and urged it to continue to give quality services to help improve the living standards of people in the rural areas.

Monsignor Robert Mensah-Aborampah, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said the Bank recorded a profit of 316.5 million cedis and granted 3.1 billion cedis as loans to customers, comprising farmers, traders, and transport owners in 2002. Monsignor Mensah-Abrampah said the share capital in the year under review was 147 million cedis and appealed to shareholders to increase it to 560 million cedis by 2005.

He said plans are underway for the bank to support women in micro financing projects to enable them to process their agricultural produce and announced that gari processing factories would soon be established at Wamfie and Asuotiano in the Dormaa District.

Nana Kwadwo Seinti, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, in a speech read for him called on rural banks to fulfil their social responsibility and support the people to implement development programmes.

He appealed to the Wamfie bank to support farmers in the Fertilizer High Technology project as well as poultry farming to improve cocoa production and poultry industry.