Rural, Community Banks Introduced To New System

The ARB Apex Bank has introduced Rural/Community Banks to a new reporting standard known as International Financial Reporting standards [ IFRS] and a banking survival strategy called Base 11 Accord.

The IFRS is a set of international accounting standards stipulating how particular types of transactions and events should be reported in financial statements, whilst Base 11 Accord is to create an internal standard that banking regulators can use when formulating regulations about how much capital banks need to set aside to guard against financial and operational risks the face.

Mr. Samuel Twumasi Ankrah, Manager , Efficiency Monitaring Unit [EMU] Internal Control, ARB Apex Bank, announced this in a speech read on behalf of Mr. Eric Osei Bonsu, Managing Director of the bank at the 17th Annual General Meeting of the Assinman Rural Bank at Assin Manso at the weekend.

Mr. Osei Bonsu said the new system has been adopted by bigger commercial banks and that the Apex Bank adopted the system because it will be of benefits to the rural banks.

For example, he said, the Base 11 Accord will help avoid the possibility of collapse of banks in that, there will be a setting of rigorous risk and capital management requirements designed to ensure that a bank holds capital reserves appropriate to the risk it exposed itself to through its lending and investment practices.

Mr. Osei-Bonsu urged Rural and Community Banks to strengthen their internal controls to ensure that operations are carried out in an orderly manner, consistent with best practices in the banking industry.

The ARB Apex General Manager, advised Rural and Community Banks to improve on their services to their customers and pointed out that the bigger banks are luring customers of the smaller banks through better quality services. .

He urged them to strengthen their marketing departments to ensure revenue growth, customer satisfaction and financial sustainability because marketing is a core component of the forces that drives business and profit.

Mr. Isaac Arkhurst Yamoah, Administrator of the Central Regional Chapter of the Association of Rural Banks, urged directors and management of the banks to take precautionary measures to protect their banks from fraudsters.

Source: GNA