By Seth KRAMPAH, Kumasi
The Association of Rural Banks, CEOs and directors of rural and community banks are set for the 23rd Biennial General Meeting (BGM) and the 5th Rural Banking Excellence Awards.
The much-anticipated event which has been scheduled for tomorrow Friday, November 15th and 17th will be held on the theme: ‘Building a Resilient Economy: The Role of Rural and Community Banks”
The primary objective of this biennial general meeting is to review the performance and activities of all major stakeholders of the Association, and other developments within the rural banking industry and elect new council members to steer the affairs of the Association for the next two years.
This year’s event will have Yaw Sapong, the Head Other Financial Institutions Supervision, Department of the Bank of Ghana, to give a keynote address who is expected to make a regulatory pronouncement and to address a regulatory thorny issue; notable among these is the compliance of the new operational directives for all rural banks.
Knowledgeable and experienced industry players including the Managing Director of the ARB Apex Bank PLC, Alex Kwesi Awuah among others, are also expected to make governance and operational remarks with regard to happenings in the industry with Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei Mensah, expected to give an opening welcome address.
The National President for the Association of Rural Banks, Eric Daning is expected to speak on several issues bothering the management of various rural and community banks such as locked-up funds with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); the need for the rural banks to have adequate capital – as it will serve as a strong buffer to cushion against losses emanating from credit and operational risk among others.
Rural and community banks play a major role in ensuring that Bank of Ghana’s National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy (NFIDS) is achieved successfully. Since they are in the communities, their products and services are tailored to incorporate everyone.
Furthermore, rural and community banks, staff and management who have positioned themselves well in the industry will be awarded for their hard work, dedication and commitment in the year under review at the 5th Rural Banking Awards which will be held to climax the 23rd BGM.
Rural and community banks contribute essentially to the economic development of the country as they support Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME), especially in the rural parts of the country.
This major role leads to financial inclusion, poverty reduction and helps in bridging the gap between urban areas and the rural economy.
The Association of rural banks is the Apex body of all rural and community banks in Ghana. Association of Rural Banks –Ghana, has a membership of 147 Rural and Community Banks with more than eight hundred and fifty (850) branch networks providing banking services throughout the country.
RCBs have a little over 6.5million customers, employing more than 15,000 permanent staff. The Association has been supporting, promoting advocacy programs through which the bank can make meaningful contributions to the development of agriculture, commerce and the growth of micro-medium and small-scale enterprises in the rural communities.
The Association however, works closely with the ARB Apex Bank PLC to achieve industry purpose.
