Akatsi (V/R), August 2, GNA- The Avenor Rural Bank (AVRB), under a Bank of Ghana selection criteria, is to operate the Domestic and Foreign Money Transfer Systems. It has also received the green light to operate the Credit Transfer Voucher System (CTVS) that shall soon be launched by the Central Bank to enable customers and non-customers to make payments to any account holder in any bank in the country.

Mr. Newton Mati, the Acting Deputy Head, Banking Operations and Treasury Department of the Association of Rural Banks (ARB) Apex Bank said this at the annual general of Avenor Rural Bank on Saturday at Akatsi. He commended the AVRB management and Board of Directors for their hard work resulting in growth of many of the bank's operations. He appreciated the increase in the bank's total deposit, which rose from 3.02 billion cedis in 2003 to 3.51 billion cedis by March this year, as well as total assets, which jumped from 4.66 billion cedis to 5.12 billion cedis within the same period.

Mr. Mati asked the shareholders to increase their shares and others to purchase more shares to improve the bank's paid up capital which now stands at 103.87 million cedis. He assured the business community that with the linking up of the rural banks with the Apex Bank, all banking activities including the domestic funds transfer, could now be relied on.

Togbe Dzamedzi Nyakpo III, the board chairman announced that the bank made a profit of 108.5 million cedis, representing 6.7 per cent increment over the 2002 figure of 101.7 million cedis. He said the figures showed progress in the bank's recovery efforts, which started in 2001 after it registered a negative income surplus of 118.4 million cedis, which has now been reduced to 21.7 million cedis. Togbe Nyakpo however said with the 21.7 million cedis negative

income surplus, the bank could still not declare dividend for the second time running, and urged shareholders to bear with the bank. He announced that the bank's investment rose by 36.7 per cent from 1.4 billion cedis in 2002 to 1.9 billion cedis while advances to customers also increased by 70.4 per cent from 1.4 billion cedis to 2.4 billion cedis the same year. Mr. Ephraim Dzinyela, President of the Volta Region chapter of ARB, asked the bank to organize regular training programmes for it's staff to ensure good management. He cautioned management and the board not to be complacent with the successes chalked over the last two years, explaining that the bank is not fully out of the woods.