The profit, he said, was a 60 per cent increase over the amount of GH¢133,826 the bank declared in 2015. 

Mr Ahenkorah, who is also the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, made the announcement at the bank’s 31st annual general meeting held at its head office at Akyem Asuom, near Kade, last weekend.

He said during the period under review, the bank’s total assets shot up from GH¢12,200,843 to GH¢14,431,782 while its total deposit increased from GH¢11,285,704 to GH¢13,621,355. Its total operating income soared from GH¢2,645,756 to GH¢3,249,756.

Corporate social activities

He stated that as part of the bank’s corporate social activities, it had donated 100 bags of cement and three trips of sand worth GH¢5,700 to the Asuom District Police Command towards the construction of a police barracks in the town.

He said the bank had also presented 100 bags of cement (valued at GH¢3,000) to authorities of the Kade Senior High School to construct a wall round the school.

Mr Ahenkorah mentioned that the bank was providing 10 gallons of fuel for the Asuom, Kade and Akwatia police stations every month as its contribution in the fight against crime in the area.

“The Ghana National Fire Service in Asuom is also being served with the same quantity of fuel for its operations,” he said. 

He said the bank recently undertook repairs of the Akyem Abodom-Abaam and Asuom-Banso roads and that following the repair works the movement of people and haulage of agricultural produce to the marketing centres had become easy now.

Mr Ahenkorah stated that the bank’s management had decided to rehabilitate a broken-down pickup vehicle to be used in transporting patients referred from the Asuom Clinic to the Kade Hospital and other health institutions.

Indebtedness to bank

He said the bank was in the process of donating laptop computers to the Asuom and Abodom junior high schools and other schools in the area. He expressed the hope that the computers would assist with the study of Information and Communications Technology in schools in the district.

He urged loan defaulters to settle their indebtedness to the bank within the shortest possible time or legal action would be taken against them to recover the amounts.

The Deputy Managing Director of the ARB Apex Bank, Mr Alex Kwasi Awuah, commended the management of the bank and shareholders and staff for being among the best banks in the Eastern Region and encouraged them to sustain the positive results it had displayed so far.

“Even though the Bank of Ghana has given a new flexible period of up to December 31, 2017 for banks to meet their minimum capital requirement, I urge you to do your best to beat that date,” he said.

Eschew fraud

Mr Awuah urged staff of the bank to work hard and eschew fraudulent deals that could impact negatively on their operations.

He asked rural banks to take the training of their staff seriously in order for them to become equipped with the relevant skills and competencies to deliver as expected.

The Asuomhene, Nana Ofosuhene Appenteng, also commended the management and staff of the bank for their commitment to duty.

All shareholders who attended the meeting were given free pairs of wellington boots.