The headache of rural and community banks in the country to meet the December deadline for new minimum requirement appears to have been eased.

This is because the governor of the bank of Ghana says his outfit will be flexible on the deadline.

The governor disclosed this at a ceremony to commemorate the 6th annual Rural Banking Week at Kpong in the Eastern region.

Bank of Ghana (BoG) had asked financial institutions in the sector to recapitalize in a move to address the indiscriminate collapse of banks and protect depositors.

December this year is the deadline for rural and community banks and other commercial banks to meet the new minimum capital requirement.

All the 141 rural and community banks are expected to raise their paid-up capital to GH¢1 million by December 2017.

The Association of Rural Banks had called for an extension of the deadline to meet the minimum capital requirement for rural and community banks (RCBs). Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison says his outfit will be flexible on the deadline.

“I have heard the earlier pleas from leaders of the association and I must assure you that the bank of Ghana will be flexible on the December deadline,” he said.

“We will continue to engage the rural banks to ensure that all of them are strengthened,” he added Chairman of the Association of Rural Banks, Nana Dr. Akowuah Boamah was excited by the gesture from the central bank. “We welcome the news of the flexibility.

All that we are saying is that, we don’t want a straight jacket fit all. There should be some categorization in the minimum requirement”, he stated.

Managing director of the regulator of the RCBs, ARB-Apex Bank, Kojo Mata says his outfit will support the banks to raise the capital. “The Bank of Ghana says it will be flexible, but how flexible, we don’t know. We hope that, they give us the time, to put the houses that are not in order in order.” Vice president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia charged the banks to take advantage of the technological drive in the country to meet the needs of customers.

“There is a digital drive going on in the country and the rural banks must take advantage. There should be no excuse not to provide customers with best customer service.”

The 6th annual rural banking week was on the theme, “Rural Banking, Key To National Industrialization”.