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Rural and community banks (RCBs) experienced modest gains in deposit mobilization and thus firmly positioned the rural banking industry in the country’s financial sector.
Total RCB deposits grew from GH ¢ 2.85 billion in 2017 to GH ¢ 3.83 billion at the end of 2019 and rose further to GH ¢ 4.32 billion at the end of June 2020.
Kojo Mattah, Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank, who released this, said deposit growth could have been better had it not been for the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected many companies, including RCBs. .
He spoke at the 21st Biennial General Meeting (BGM) of the National Association of Rural Banks (NARB) in Kumasi.
It was under the theme ‘Financial sector reforms and their impact on rural banking: challenges and benefits’.
Mattah said that financial reforms introduced by the ARB Apex bank and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) had ensured an upward trend in deposits from rural and community banks as clients now felt comfortable shifting their options investment to RCBs.
He said the new Corporate Governance Directives of the BoG and other strict measures had forced the RCBs to assume their responsibilities.
Mr. Mattah said the need for RCBs to take advantage of the Ghana Alternative Market (GAX), which provided a great opportunity for RCBs to list and trade their shares for members of the public.
He said it was important for RCBs to use the opportunities provided by GAX to help diversify their operations to make them more liquid and solvent, to play a key role in the financial sector of the economy.
Mattah urged RCBs to adopt modern technologies such as security-enhanced automated teller machines (ATMs) and other modern banking services for customers.
Mr. Daniel Owusu, National President of the Association of Rural Banks (ARB), said that the reforms introduced by BOG were ultimately to direct the course of banking in the country and provide a dynamic banking sector.
This was to stimulate and drive the country’s economy on a firm and solid path of growth and development,
He said that the RCBs, in addition to stimulating the economic activities of their clients to improve their standard of living, also offered a reasonable number of employment opportunities to all types of people.
Owusu said there was a need for the BOG and the government to present a special case for quick payment of blocked funds that had been validated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Source: GNA
