Amanano Rural Bank increases support to agric in catchment area
Amanano Rural Bank is to support the agricultural sector in the Ashanti Region with GH¢5 million in the next fiscal year as against the previous year’s investment of GH¢3.3m.
The amount represents a 33 percentage increase.
The amount will go into such areas as citrus, cocoa, palm plantation, poultry and piggery, to help boost the sector to increase productivity, enhance export and also create jobs, especially for the youth in the bank’s catchment area at Nyinahin in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region.
The General Manager of the Bank, Mr Christian Osei-Bonsu, told the Daily Graphic that the bank’s decision to support the sector arose from the fact that it operated mainly in the rural areas and such a move sought to help improve the lives of the people in the areas.
He was speaking after the bank’s 29th annual general meeting at Nyinahin in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region.
Areas to benefit from the support include small-scale farmers, merchants, industrialists and co-operatives of such farmers as well as enterprises in the bank’s catchment area.
The GM said there was the need to support the development of local industries in the country to ensure that the local economy was strengthened.
The idea, according to him, was for the local industries to get enough raw materials locally to avoid sending all raw materials abroad for processing before bringing them back into the country.
On the bank’s performance, he said total assets increased from GH¢16,297,785 in 2012 to GH¢20,656,788 in 2013, representing 27 per cent increase, and total investment increased from GH¢3,524,959 in 2012 to GH¢5,983,108 also representing an increase of 70 per cent.
Net profit before tax, however, decreased from GH¢711,871 in 2012 to GH¢338,905, representing a decrease of 52 per cent, while loans and advances grew by 21 per cent from GH¢8,168,252 in 2012 to GH¢9,874,088 in 2013.
To help mitigate the deficit in the year under review, Mr Antwi said the board had put in place pragmatic measures to help ameliorate the losses incurred in the past year and assured the shareholders of the board’s desire to improve the state of affairs.
The Board Chairman of the bank, Nana Adjei Manu Berchie, said the depreciation of the cedi against major international trading currencies, the increase in the Bank of Ghana prime rates during the fiscal year and the high inflation rates in 2013, among other factors, had a negative effect on the bank’s operations.