The idea to establish Sekyere Rural Bank was conceived and proposed by Captain Osei Ntem, a native of Jamasi township in the Ashanti Region. He made the proposal in 1981 to the elders of Jamasi to establish a rural bank at Jamasi.
A letter was sent to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for consideration after which Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani had a discussion with the BoG team about the possibility of establishing the bank.
Sekyere Rural Bank was then set up and commissioned in 1983 at Jamasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana with a mandate of primarily mobilizing resources from its operational area for on lending to individuals’ savers, small and medium scale enterprises.
Traditionally, the role of the Bank is to play an intermediary between surplus fund holders and those in need of funds for their economic activities in the communities in which the bank operates. The nature of the businesses that the Bank is authorized to carry out are:
- The provision of Current and Deposit Accounts for customers
- To act as agent for other financial institutions in the country
- To Accept and Discount Bills of Exchange
- To act as Executors or trustees of wills for people in the community
- To provide finance for farmers, small and medium scale enterprises
- Safe keeping
After registering under the Ghana Companies Code 1963, Act 179 as amended Companies Act 2019, (Act 992), Sekyere Rural Bank Plc has a clear vision which is ‘To be the Rural Bank of Choice’. To successfully achieve this vision, the board deemed it necessary to outline the bank’s mission and a core value or some standards to guide everyone towards the achievement of the stated vision. The bank’s mission statement is ‘Unique Bank, propelled by a motivated workforce, customized products, and best banking services, creating value for our shareholders’.
CORE VALUES
Core Values of the bank has been modified and rearranged with the acronym “DIPS”
- Diligence: We operate with high sense of due care and vigilance
- Innovation: We foster a climate which encourages innovation
- Partnership: We partner individuals, groups, government, and non-governmental organizations for community development
- Standards: We operate at the highest standards and with best practices
TARGET MARKET OF THE BANK
Our primary focus is to provide tailor made solutions and wide range of financial services to the unbanked and under banked within the rural and peri-urban communities by mobilizing surplus funds from the communities and channeling such funds into the productive sectors of the economy.
The bank supports retail customers, small and medium enterprises, micro unit institutions, and farmers to ensure accelerated economic growth and development in the communities in which we operate with a prime aim of alleviating poverty in the short term and eliminating same in the long run.
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Savings Products: Current Accounts, Savings Accounts, Fixed Deposits, Susu Savings Accounts, Medaakye Savings (Investments Account), Bronya Anidaso Savings, Aku Sika Group Savings
Loans and Advances: Overdrafts Facilities, Salary Advance, Commercial Loans, Salaried Loans, Credit Line, S- Smart Loan (Controller Loan Product), X’mas Loan, Group Loans (Aku Sika), Susu Loans, Funeral Loans, Fast Track Loan (FT), Agric Loan.
Other Services
- Domestic Funds Transfers
- Advisory Service (Trust, Investment)
- Safe-Custody Services (Bailment Agreement)
- Executors and Trustees for Wills
- Agent for the ARB Apex Bank and other Financial Institutions in the country.
DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
The bank currently has nine (9) Vibrant & fully networked branches across the region and has its head office located at Jamasi. The branches are as follows: Jamasi, Agona, Ntonso, Mamponteng, Ahwiaa, Dr. Mensah, Abrepo Junction, Kronom and Afrancho.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The following able and competent Board of Directors directs the affairs of the bank:
Mad. Constance Asamoah – Chairperson
Dr. Steven Antwi – Vice Chairman
George Oppong Esq. – Ag. Secretary
Mr. Godfred Adu-Yeboag – Member
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT
The bank prides itself with a well-qualified professionals and competent Executive Management team:
Michael Aidoo – Chief Executive Officer
Prosper Badu – Head of Operations
James Owusu -Ansah – Head of Finance
- Krobea Asante – Manager, Risk and Compliance
Muntala Mohammed – Manager, Audit
Simon Aboagye – Manager, Microfinance
Ulric Ofori Asare – Manager, IT
Samuel Opoku Ware – Manager, Credit
Esi Ampiah Adu-Gyamfi – Manager, Human Resource
Percy Sydney Annan – Manager, Marketing
Maxwell John Adu – Manager, Administration
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
Sekyere Rural Bank Limited has been recording impressive year-on-year performance in some key performance indicators as depicted below:
| Performance Indicator | 2024 (GH¢) | 2023 (GH¢) | % Incr. / (Decr) |
| Deposit | 295,351,434.23 | 187,765,133 | 57.30 |
| Loans and Advances | 65,790,900.39 | 52,849,797 | 24.49 |
| Investment | 207,118,409.21 | 108,925,423 | 90.15 |
| Total Assets | 319,512,627.99 | 201,576,201 | 58.51 |
| Share Capital | 2,390,108.19
|
2,340,368 | 2.13
|
| Profit / (Loss) Before Tax | 6,679,453.74 | (3,954,306) | 268.92 |
AWARDS
As a result of our outstanding performance, Sekyere Rural Bank has won so many awards, locally and internationally. The Association of Rural Banks awarded the Best Bank in Digitalization the bank. Six Gold Awards have been won at the Ashanti Financial Services Excellence Awards, held under the auspices of the Manhyia Palace, Kumasi.
The bank won an International Gold Award on Quality, Innovation and Excellence during the 2012 BID Century International Quality ERA Convention in Geneva, Switzerland. Another award was also won in Best Practices Award in Excellent Performance, instituted by the Chartered Institute of Financial and Investments Analysts – Ghana. The bank was awarded Platinum (International Arch of Europe) for Quality, Leadership, Technology and Innovation in Frankfurt, Germany.
Through our effort in the recent development in the banking industry in migrating customers to a mobile banking system, we were awarded the Best Bank in Digitalization for being the RCB to have registered the most clients on the GhanaPay platform.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The contribution of the bank towards socio-economic development of the country, through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been enormous. Our CSR contributions cut across several sectors, including health, education, security, agriculture, etc.
To mention a few, the bank single handedly built a big Police Post for the Ghana Police Service at a strategic location in-between Jamasi and Asante Mampong scalp, where armed robbers attack was rampantly experienced by several commuters. Since this onerous intervention by Sekyere Rural bank, cases of armed robbery have now become a thing of the past in the area.
The bank prides itself as an institution that applied its initiative to build and fully furnish a 50-seater ICT Centre for the Interbeton JHS in Agona Ashanti, to uplift ICT education at the school.
It has annually supported the National Farmers Day Celebration by providing items and equipment’s to Municipal and District Assemblies within its catchment areas to be awarded deserving farmers. The bank has also donated several quantities of branded exercise books in support of the Otumfour Educational Fund, other schools, and also sponsored educational quizzes, among others.
Additionally, the bank did some donations as part of its CSR activities to help bring some relief within our education sector of which few are outlined below;
- Fifteen (15) packets of roofing sheet to St. Joseph Catholic Junior High School at Jamasi
- Fifty (50) desks (both dual and mono) to the Boanim Technical Senior High School
- A printer and a box of A4 sheet to the Afigya Kwabre North District Education Office
- Fifteen (15) desks to the Jamasi S.D.A Primary School
With all these done one will say that Sekyere Rural Bank is really making waves into its operational area and beyond with its corporate social responsibilities. However, because we see ourselves as family from the society and living within it, we intent to give more and indeed we gave more.
The bank recently built and furnished a security post for the Jamasi Health Center to improve security at the hospital. The bank once again, donated four (4) table top fridges to the four districts; the Afigya Kwabre North and South, Kwabre East and Sekyere South toward Farmer’s Day celebration within the afore mentioned districts.
Again, the bank built a bathhouse for the Boys’ Dormitory at the Adu Gyamfi Senior High School. The bank has also helped the Ntonso MA Junior High School with the roofing of it toilet facility. This has given some facelift to these schools and restores some sanity with these issues. The installation of intercom system, donation of laptop and a system unit was given to the Afigya Kwabre South District Education Office for some smooth running of the office.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2025
The bank will continue to pursue strategies and programs that would well position and drive the performance of the bank towards achievement of corporate objectives. Compliance with regulations, good corporate governance practices, effective risk management systems, and excellence in customer service would continue to be given significant attention by the Board and Management.
The bank will continue to employ technologically efficient and effective systems, including digitization, to enable it to continuously offer unequalled services to our cherished customers and shareholders. Performance management systems will continue to improved in aspect such as
- Excellent customer service.
- Offer lending to its customers at very moderate lending rates.
- The use of innovative ways to sell the bank’s products through digitalization.
- Introduction of new products and repackaging of existing ones that will meet the needs of our customers.
