The Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Paulina abayage, has appealed to ARB Apex Bank to intensify its supervisory and monitoring roles of rural and community banks (RCBs) in the country.
This, she stressed, would help operate efficiently and restore shareholder confidence in the banking sector.
The regional minister, who was speaking at the 28th annual general meeting of shareholders of the Naara Rural Bank held at Navrongo on Saturday, said she was happy that all the RCBs in the region met with the BoG’s capital requirement.
She said RCBs were very critical institutions in the implementation of the government policies such as the Planting for Food and Jobs, Rearing for Foods and Jobs, planting for export and rural development provision of grants and loans.
The regional minister who lauded the Naara Rural Bank for making significant strides over the years, called on the management of the bank and other RCBs to support more rural women with loans to undertake small scale businesses to help grow the local economy.
Mrs Abayage entreated the management of Naara Rural Banks and other RCBs in the region to ensure that their research department provides technical and financial support to the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAS) project established in most of the communities in the region.
The General Manager of the bank, Mr Samuel Namoog, appealed to the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council to help the bank by ensuring that all the municipal and district assemblies in the bank’s catchment area transact businesses with the bank to enhance its growth.
The Regional Manager of ARB Apex Bank, Mr Zinzendorf Pascal Nkulenu, who attributed the woes in the banking sector to lack of good corporate governance structures, admonished all the boards and the managements of the banks to strengthen their corporate governance structures.
From Samuel Akapule, Navrongo
