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The South Akim Rural Bank (SARB), which was established at Nankese in the Suhum Municipality in the Eastern Region in 1984, has marked its 40th anniversary with a pledge to continue offering financial services to improve the lot of the people.
Nankese, located in a cocoa- and foodstuffs-producing belt, has most of its inhabitants, as well as those of nearby villages, as farmers and petty traders.
The bank, in view of that, began offering financial assistance to promote such businesses in its catchment areas.
Over the years, its assets, profits, and deposits continued to rise, enabling the bank to increase its loan portfolio.
For instance, its assets rose from GH?256.50 million in 2024 to GH?315.70 million in 2025, an increase of 23 per cent, while total deposits hiked from GH?210.70 million to GH?264.6 million, while loans and advances grew by 35 per cent from GH?50.6 million to GH?68.3 million, all within the same period.
Such a remarkable performance of the bank within its 40-year period won the admiration of the Bank of Ghana.
Addressing staff, shareholders, customers and other beneficiaries at a durbar at Nankese, the acting Head, Financial Institutions in charge of the Supervision Department of the BOG, Desmond Agbogah, commended the board of directors, management and staff for such a remarkable performance.
He was hopeful that the bank would witness further improvement this year. He,therefore, urged both the board and management to adopt good corporate governance and effective risk management, best practices that would help the bank to clearly identify, measure, control and mitigate risks associated with the bank's operations.
Mr Agbogah, who represented the Governor of the BoG, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiamah, was hopeful that the directors and management of the bank would continue to adhere to ethics and professionalism by demonstrating high integrity, transparency and accountability to safeguard the institution and reaffirmed depositor confidence.
Mr Agbogah also dwelt extensively on the rural banking sector which total assets expanded from GH?18.6 billion in 2024 to GH?24.5 billion in 2025, while credit delivery rose from GH?4.16 billion to GH?6.37 billion, all within the same period.
He stated that the sector's deposits grew from GH?16.1 billion in 2024 to GH?21.1 billion the following year, while investments remained the largest assets at GH?14.0 billion.
On his part, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr Theophilus Knight Oware, said the bank served over 80,000 customers from Nankese, Suhum, Koforidua, Asamankese, Adoagyiri, Osenase, Kade together with their nearby villages.
With regards to its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), he said the bank introduced a scholarship scheme to support brilliant needy students by paying their fees to offer them the opportunity to pursue their education.
The bank, he also indicated, supported the establishment of a vocational training centre to offer practical skills for young persons.
The Chief of Nankese, Barima Annor Marfo II, said the bank had reduced unemployment in the community and that chiefs in the area would continue to support the bank to grow to enable it offer more loans to the people in the catchment areas.
