Shai Rural Bank struggles to stay afloat

Rural Banks

Tema, Sept. 2, GNA - The Shai Rural Bank is inching towards insolvency after depositors panicked and reacted to alleged stealing and misapplication of funds by withdrawing their deposits in droves.

A high ranking official in the bank, who pleaded anonymity, said loans were rampantly given out to both staff and favoured customers without recourse to banking rules and best practices.

According to the source, for some time now, even pensioners struggle to access their stipends due to the bank's liquidity problems.

'The Shai Osudoku District Assembly has some funds locked up while the local Ghanata Senior High School is also struggling to access its monies lodged in accounts managed by the Bank.'

Meanwhile, the Apex bank, the umbrella body of the country's rural bank, has interceded by appointing auditors to conduct forensic auditing of the Bank's transactions to ascertain the spread and depth of the muddle.

The management of the Shai Rural Bank has declined to speak on the issue but in an interview with Mrs Eunice Osei-Bonsu, Public Relations Manager of Apex Bank, she confirmed the bank's misfortune to the Ghana News Agency but indicated that discussions are ongoing to see how best to resuscitate it since its collapse would be fatal to the communities in and around Dodowa.

According to her, the normal practice is that, such distressed banks are re-capitalised with the help of the Association of Rural banks and the Apex bank with the blessing of the Bank of Ghana.

The Shai Rural Bank, headquartered in Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region, has existed for more than thirty years.

It was established primarily to mobilize deposits within its catchment area, which is predominantly agrarian, design and offer appropriate financial services to boost rural based economic activities.

GNA