THE rural banking concept was introduced into the country in 1970 after a case study of the same practice in the Philippines. It was aimed at extending credit facilities to small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs.
This became imperative because rural dwellers depended on local money lenders for their credit needs at very high interest rates to the extent that they were left with little or no returns.
In an attempt to alleviate the hardship of rural entrepreneurs, co-operatives and other associations were formed with the aim of providing credit and other facilities for them on flexible terms. Unfortunately, these measures did not achieve any appreciable success in providing dependable and adequate sources of credit for the rural dweller.
The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) was established in 1965 as a branch of the Bank of Ghana’s Rural Credit , but its role in agricultural financing was not fully appreciated since its services reached only a small fraction of rural dwellers. It eventually followed the trail of commercial banks which tapped resources from rural to urban areas and demanded unaffordable collateral for their credit facilities.
It was the aim of closing the lending gap between the urban and areas that made the Bank of Ghana recommend the opening of the Unity Rural Bank Limited at Ziope in the Adaklu-Anyigbe District, the 79th of such facilities in the country.
The bank was first known as Adaklu Rural Bank and had its headquarters at Adaklu-Waya, but the headquarters was later moved to Ho by the first Chairman, the late Mr Addae de Souza, popularly known as Fettor Koku, due to a misunderstanding between him on one side and the staff and the community on the other.
As a sequel to that, in 1985, the name of the bank was changed from Adaklu to Unity Rural Bank by a special resolution, with the approval of the Registrar of Companies.
For now, the bank has expanded its activities to Agotime-Kpetoe, Ave Dakpa, in Ho and Aflao, where it opened agencies, in addition to a mobilisation centre at the Ho Lorry Park, near the Central Market.
Although the bank made losses for a few years, it has overcome that problem and has now been declaring profits at its annual general meetings (AGMs).
The bank has become a pillar for socio-economic development in some parts of the Volta Region, especially in the Adaklu-Anyigbe District, since it has offered a number of facilities for its clients and the communities.
The facilities offered last year included scholarships and donations worth GH¢3,000 to the people of Aflao, Kekeli Preparatory School at Aflao, the Kente festival of Agotime Kpetoe, Asogli State festival, Adaklu-Anyigbe District Farmers Day celebration and the speech and prize-giving day of Ave-Dakpa Senior High School (AVESCO).
The operational results of the bank in the previous year increased in all portfolios, and spanned sectors such as total deposits, total assets, total advances, shareholders funds, total income and net profits. The expenditure of the bank, however, continues to rise.
According the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, Togbe Binah Lawluvi VI, although crude oil prices continued to fluctuate and the unpredictability of crude prices made meaningful planning very difficult, the bank has managed to increase its profit from GH¢40,150 in 2007 to GH¢99,214 in 2008.
He said capital had also shot up from GH¢98,091 in December, 2007 to GH¢169,193 in December 2008, far above the Bank of Ghana’s requirements, adding that although the bank had crossed the threshold of GH¢150,000, it could declare and pay dividends.
As of now, the bank has a total clientele of 25,483 with 9,075 for savings, 8,332 for current accounts, and 7,876 for Susu. It also manages funds for the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC), Food and Budgetary Support (FABS), People With Disabilities (PWD) and Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP).
At the silver jubilee celebration of the bank, the board members proposed payment of dividend of GH¢O.015 per share, totalling GH¢46,254 to its 2,017 shareholders.
Over the years, the bank has energised the agricultural sector and granted loans for the production of tomatoes, maize, yams, cassava, beans and other varieties of crops.
It has also supported the production of Agbamevor or Kente to consolidate the claims that the area is the cradle of the cloth’s production.
At 25, it is unique that the computerisation programme of the bank would be realised by the end of this year to enhance the quality services it renders to its cherished customers.
To the shareholders and stakeholders, however, the computerisation process entailed enormous cost that called for the subscription of more shares to enable the bank to remain in competitive business.
The bank has been able to stand on its feet through the effective supervision of the Supervising Manager, Mr Joseph Sunu, who has served it for 23 years. He is the longest-serving member of staff, of all the 40 employees who are currently at post.
It has, however, not been easy for the Unity Rural Bank to come this far in the prevailing turbulent economic and financial market.
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