The United National Development Programme (UNDP) in 2005 offered Odotobri rural bank 70,000 Ghana Cedis as grant for being the best bank in the management of micro finance activities.
Mr. G.F. Opoku, the Supervising Manager of the bank, told the GNA in an interview at Jacobu in the Amansie Central District of Ashanti that the bank had been the leaders in micro finance.
"Odotobri Rural Bank started micro finance in 2001, the first in Ashanti Region and the UNDP came in 2005 and amongst the banks selected, we were adjudged the best and had GHc70, 000 as grant" he said.
Mr. Opoku said more than 10,000 people had benefited from the micro finance activities designed to minimize poverty in the rural communities,.
He said the bank's recovery rate is commensurate with world standards adding, "we have over the years been applying the best international practices in micro finance management.
Mr. Opoku named the number of clients one field officer handled, the number of weeks needed in training the clients before credit was granted and the mode of defining an active poor were some of the good international practices being applied by the bank.
He said these had brought positive impact on the general performance of the bank as profits had been increasing year after year with improvements in the image and confidence of the bank as the number of clients kept on increasing.