THE Association of Rural Banks (ARB) has called on the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to take a second look at the decision fixing the minimum share capital for rural banks at GH¢150,000.
According to the bank, the decision by the central bank to raise the minimum share capital by 200 per cent, that is, from GH¢50,000 to GH¢150,000, would negatively affect the operations of many of the rural banks.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the opening of a four-day advocacy workshop for senior members of the ARB in Kumasi, Mrs Rose Newman, the acting President of the ARB, said, “Very few of the banks could meet the new minimum share capital.”
Under the regulations of the BoG, banks that fail to meet the requirement, would, among other sanctions, not be allowed to pay dividend to shareholders.
The workshop, organised and financed by the ARB and the BUSAC Fund, was aimed at equipping the participants with the skills to effectively advocate improvement in the operations of the institutions and their workers.
The participants included council members and chapter members of the ARB across the country.
Mrs Newman said failure by the rural banks to pay dividends to shareholders would put many people off from investing in the banks.
She, however, called on the public to continue to have faith in the rural banks by buying their shares because there were a lot of benefits to be derived from them.
Mrs Newman said her outfit was determined to change any negative mindset of the public about the rural banks.
She noted that the rural banks offered the right banking services for the middle and low-income groups.
The acting ARB president called for industrial peace as the banks moved to play a more effective role in the financial sector.
The Assistant Executive Director of the ARB, Mr Kwabena Agyei-Acheampong, stated that since the rural banks were the actual partners in development, the public must have faith in doing business with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment