Benjamin Afful-Eshun
The Board and Management of Ahantaman Rural Bank Plc say they are committed to ensuring compliance with the statutory provisions in the Anti Money Laundering Act and the applicable regulations and guidelines.
To this end, the bank, which has branches in Western and Central regions has decided to continuously train its staff on the Bank’s Anti-Money Laundering Policies to ensure strict compliance.
This was contained in the Corporate Governance Report of the financial institution made known at the 37th Annual General Meeting.
According to the report, the Bank also has a comprehensive policy on conflict of interest and disclosures and will ensure strict compliance with the legal provisions of the policy.
Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Elizabeth Obeng, revealed that the bank rebounded from the adverse effect of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) to record outstanding performance in the year under review.
She disclosed that the bank’s deposit increased from GH¢236,095,344 in 2023 to GH¢367,253,780 in 2024 while profit after tax also increased from GH¢4,443,446 in 2023 to GH¢14,024,102 last year.
She indicated that the Board has recommended dividend of GH¢0.08 per share, amounting to GH¢3,130,261 which is the equivalent of 22.32 per cent of the profit after tax.
“In compliance with regulatory directives, we have written to the Bank of Ghana to seek approval for the payment,” she said.
“We hope that we shall receive the required approval for payment to be made in the shortest possible time”, she told the shareholders.
She said in line with the policy to give a portion of the bank’s profit back to the communities in which it serves, it has supported some social interventions within its catchment areas.
“During the period under review an amount of GH¢1,274,072 was spent to support critical areas under the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility”, she added.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bank, Benjamin Afful-Eshun, said he will keep working hard to help double the current dividend for shareholders next year.
He stated, “We want to expand on our digital infrastructure. We have had an approval for our new shortcode .We are going to introduce lots of digital channels to help customers do business with the bank wherever they find themselves”, he pointed out.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi