GRi BEF News Ghana 08 - 08 - 2000
Standard
Chartered denies there is shortage of Cedi
Badumah Rural Bank records remarkable progress
Market
indices on Accra bourse open week unchanged
GRi
Tourists Exchange Rates
Standard Chartered denies there is shortage of
Cedi
Accra (Greater Accra) 08 August 2000
Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) on Monday denied
that there is shortage of Cedis in the bank.
Mr. Willing Vanderpuije, Head of External
Affairs of the Bank, said the management was surprised at the report that
attributed the shortage to an official of the Bank.
"As far as we know there was no shortage
and no official has spoken to any journalist. We are extremely surprised at the
report."
Mr. Vanderpuije said SCB as an international
bank respects all the banking laws and regulations governing banks in the
country. It also has the best of relationship and co-operation with the Bank of
Ghana at all times.
Mr. Vanderpuije said it is the bank's position
to see the development of a cash-less society in which more payment instruments
such as cheques, drafts and debit cards would be used to transact business,
instead of cash.
This, he explained, would drastically reduce
the amount of money used in printing currency notes and lead to an efficient
management of the financial system.
However, the Ghana News Agency insists that
there was a serious shortage of cash at the bank.
Investigations conducted by the (GNA) last
Friday confirmed the shortage of cedi notes, which made it difficult for some
customers to withdraw their money especially huge sums.
An official of the Standard Chartered Bank on
Friday told GNA that the shortage was real
.
"Yes, there are no notes. Even though the
Central Bank claims there is enough money to go round, the reality is that,
they will tell you 'there is no money', the official said told the GNA
reporter.
The investigations also revealed that at the
High Street branch of the Bank, one of the biggest and busiest in the country,
customers had to wait for an unusually long time before being served.
Some customers stood before cages for a long
time as the cashiers consulted with their supervisors.
One disappointed customer told the GNA that he
was informed that he could not withdraw more than 10 million cedis although he
needed more than that to transact his business. "I could not believe
it."
Cashiers were trying to dish out a good mix of
notes and 500-cedi coins to customers in black carrier bags or small boxes.
Customers who did not want the coins took back their cheques.
Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Governor of the Bank of
Ghana, was quoted by the Graphic on Thursday as saying that there are adequate
quantities of cedi notes to take care of the needs of all customers.
He said some banks had allowed their customers
to withdraw billions of cedis over the counter, describing it as an improper
banking practice that must not be encouraged.
Customers who want to make huge payments could
use banker's drafts if they do not want to issue cheques.
GRi…/
Badu (Brong Ahafo) 08 August 2000
The Baduman Rural Bank in the
Wenchi District of the Brong Ahafo Region recorded a net profit of 141,778,744
cedis in 1999 as against 14,127,496 cedis in the previous year.
Mr. Michael Akrosumah, Chairman of
the Board of Directors, made this known at the 12th Annual General Meeting
(AGM) of the bank at Badu on Saturday when he presented his report for the year
under review.
He said total assets of the bank
rose from 1.7 billion cedis in 1998 to 2.7 billion cedis in 1999.
Through savings mobilisation, the
bank's total deposits increased from 741.7 million cedis in 1998 to 1.02
billion cedis in 1999, recording a growth of 3.75 per cent.
Investment in government stocks
rose from 365.5 million cedis in 1998 to 609.5 million cedis in 1999, showing
an increase of 71 per cent.
Mr. Akrosumah said similarly, loans
and advances increased from 877.1 million cedis in 1998 to 1.5 billion cedis in
1999.
The manager, Mr. I.F. Baffoe,
attributed the bank's success to the immense support it received from the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which provided funds
for lending to its customers, and commended it for its support.
GRi…/
Accra (Greater Accra) 08 August 2000
The major indices of the Ghana Stock Exchange
opened the week unchanged when trading resumed on the bourse on Monday.
The GSE-All Share Index, the main market
indicator, which fell 1.5 points on Friday, marked-time at 820.41 points as the
market continued its unimpressive run.
Total market capitalisation and the change for
the year to date were equally unchanged at 3,571.31 billion cedis and 11.44 per
cent respectively.
Generally, trading was poor with as many as 10
equities selling a mere 22,800 shares. Enterprise Insurance Company sold the
highest number of 13,000 shares.
On the broader market, there was no price
change. Only Super Paper Products Company (SPPC) had a positive pressure. Ten
equities were without any pressure while 11 others returned negative pressure.
For the first time in many months, total shares
declined by almost one million to close at 1.6 million from a high of 2.6
million.
Bids also ended lower at 51,100 down from
66,500 at the previous session.
Below are the closing prices of listed equities
in cedis:
ABL 620
AGC 18,600
ALW 2,600
BAT 440
CFAO 38
EIC 1,880
FML 1,200
GBL 1,400
GCB 1,000
GGL 990
HFC 950
MGL 200
MLC 150
MOGL 17,500
PAF 300
PBC 520
PZ 800
SCB 22,000
SPPC 155
SSB 1,990
UNIL 1,800
UTCE 125
CMLT 425
GRi…/
BEF
GRi
Tourists Exchange Rates 08 - 08 - 2000
Country Currency Buying Selling
UK Pound sterling 8,600 9,000
U.S.
Dollar 5,700 6,000
Canadian
Can. Dollar 4,000 4,300
Germany Deutsche marks 2,900
3,300
French
Franc 890 940
Ductch
Guilder 2,500 2,850
Swiss
Swiss Franc 3,500 3,850
C.F.A.
Franc 8,900 9,3
GRi