Total income from operations of the Bank also grew by 7.2 per cent from GH¢10,782,993.00 in 2017 to GH¢11,561,242.00 in the 2018 financial year.

Mr Alex Adomako Mensah, the Vice-Chairman of the Board, said this during the Shareholders' Forum and 26th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Bank at Kumawu in the Sekyere Kumawu District of the Ashanti Region.

He said investments rose from GH¢26,763,038.00 in 2017 to GH¢32,488,226.00 in 2018.

This represents a 21.4 per cent increase in investments, while the Bank's total deposits stood at GH¢69,343,234.00 in 2018, as against GH¢57,710,822.00 in 2017, an increase of 20.2 per cent.

"Our profit before tax stood at GH¢590,249.00 for the 2018 financial year, while shareholders' funds grew by 10 per cent from GH¢6,259,854.00 in 2017 to GH¢6,886,975.00 in 2018," Mr Mensah said.

The Bank also increased its stated capital from GH¢2,522,546.00 in 2017 to GH¢2,845,512 in 2018, representing a 12.8 per cent growth.

This, he said, far exceeded the Bank of Ghana's minimum capital requirement for rural banks by about 184 per cent.

Mr Mensah said the development was attributable to the Bank's adoption of prudent and strong measures to sustain operations and survive the financial turbulence in the banking arena.

These measures include aggressive deposit mobilisation, increment of share capital and effective risk management to reduce non-performing loans as well as toxic assets.

The programme coincided with the celebration of this year's 'World Savings Day', an event which seeks to reach the unbanked and create awareness on the need for good savings culture.

"We believe commemorating the World Savings Day by strategically holding our AGM on this day would help us establish a strong base of public trust, confidence and patronage," the Board Vice-Chair noted.

Mr Patrick Owusu, President of the Ashanti Regional Association of Rural Banks, urged the public to debunk the false speculations that the rural banking sector was collapsing due to the new regulations from the Bank of Ghana.

He pointed out that all the rural banks nationwide had strong financial, economic and fiscal standing to guarantee the protection of customers' investments.

Mr George Kwaku Annor, the Regional Branch Manager of the ARB Apex Bank Limited, commended the Kumawuman Rural Bank Limited for its strong financial performance, especially its deposits mobilization.

Baffour Atta Tweneboa, the Chief of Bodomase in the Kumawu Traditional Area, lauded the Bank for constructing the Bodomase Secondary and Technical School, which had now been absorbed by the Government.