Positions of two brokers re-designated
Rural Banks told to tighten loan recovery system
Positions of two brokers re-designated
Accra (Greater Accra), 16th November 99
Two Directors of Databank Brokerage Limited (DBL), have been re-designated as directors of the Enterprise Insurance Company (EIC) from their former position as executive directors.
This follows the intervention of the Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) drawing EIC's attention to the Exchange's membership regulations which prohibit directors of licensed dealing members from actively engaging in executive management of any company without the prior approval of the GSE council.
A statement in Accra on Monday by the GSE named the two as Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta and Mr. Keli Gadzekpo.
The GSE said the Exchange's attention was drawn to the anomaly but the EIC officials explained that the title "executive directors" was an inapplicable designation because the two do not have cheque-signing privileges nor are they remunerated for their services.
They are also not remunerated as senior management personnel.
The Exchange said in view of the correction, Mr. Ofori-Atta and Mr. Gadzekpo now become directors and not executive directors of the Company.
It therefore advised the investing public to disregard any references to them as executive directors of the company in any previous publications as all such records are being amended.
GRi
Rural Banks told to tighten loan recovery system
Kintampo (Brong Ahafo) 16th November 99
The Head of Rural Finance Inspection Department of the Bank of Ghana, Mr. Stephen Ameyaw, has asked Rural Banks to tighten their loans approval and tracking mechanisms and adopt a more stringent loan recovery systems.
This, he noted, is the only way to enhance their credit administration performances and reduce bad debts which have become the bane of rural banks and led the collapse of some of them.
Mr. Ameyaw was speaking at Kintampo at the weekend during the 20th anniversary celebration of the Kintampo Rural Bank which was the first to be established in the region and the seventh in the country.
Rural Banks, he said, must also endeavour to strengthen their internal control systems to help preserve the security of their assets, enhance the quality of services and forestall fraud by their staff.
Mr. Ameyaw said the rural banks play very important roles in the national economy by stimulating development through the mobilisation of financial resources in rural areas to support viable economic ventures.
He urged Rural Banks to introduce new financial products and consider the inclusion of staff training programmes in their budgets to improve their capacity to achieve the objectives for which they were established.
The Head of the Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Ghana, Mr. Asiedu Mantey, commended the bank for its achievements over the years.
Mr. Mantey observed that the survival of the bank has been because of the good governance of its directors, efficient management of staff and the level of patronage by people in its catchment areas.
He therefore urged the directors, customers, shareholders, management and staff of the bank to use the anniversary to resolve to make the bank stronger, more efficient and profitable than it is now.
The board chairman, Mr. Kwaku Poku, said the bank made a profit before tax of 47 million cedis last year as against the 41.6 million cedis in 1997.
He said in the year under review, the bank also granted loans and overdrafts to the tune of 404.6 million cedis to 992 customers, while total assets rose from 914 million cedis in 1997 to one point four billion cedis in 1998.
The District Chief Executive of Kintampo, Mr. Stephen Kinsu appealed to customers who have received loans from the bank to pay back promptly to enhance the efficiency of the bank.
GRi