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Mr. Reuben Adamtey, Bolgatanga Branch Manager of the ARB Apex Bank has advised rural and community banks to check fraud in the banking industry. "One serious issue that I want to draw your attention to is fraud, which has reared its ugly head in the banking industry especially in the rural and community banks", Mr. Adamtey said at the Ninth Annual General Meeting of the Bangmarigu Community Bank at Walewale in the West Mamprusi District. He said it was necessary for managers of rural and community banks to conduct thorough background checks on persons who want to open accounts with their banks to ensure that they were not fraudsters. He said the situation also called for caution on the part of all stakeholders to help curtail the activities of the fraudsters to bring sanity into the banking industry to enable customers to transact their business in a friendly atmosphere. Mr. Adamtey said internal control mechanisms also needed to be strengthened to ensure that the various management of the banks did not recruit people with dubious characters to thwart success and also equip the personnel with the tools to work. He said the E-zwich, E-fass and Cheque Clearing were technological innovations, which should compel all bank employees to update their skills in order to face the challenges ahead. Mr. John Asabigi, Board Chairman of the Bank, said the 2008 electioneering campaigns impacted negatively on some aspects of operations of the bank since most customers were no more depositing money. He said despite the abysmal deposit and savings culture in 2008, the bank forged ahead and made some gains in loans recoveries while purchase of treasury bills had also increased tremendously. He said the outstanding loan portfolio between 2007 and 2008 showed an increase of 47.56 per cent from GH�448,599.00 to GH�661,975.00. Mr. Asabigi said though the bank recorded net profit of GH�68,554.00, this was 12.64 per cent below the 2007 figure of GH� 78,475.00, while total income increased by 33 per cent from GH�237,026.00 in 2007 to GH�315,429.00 in 2008. He said the increase of 55.7 per cent in operating expenses from GH�158,551.00 to GH�246,875.00 between the two periods outweighed the gains in total income. He said during the year 2008, the bank supported the Nalerigu Senior High School with books and the farmers' day celebration and the Ghana Education Service in the district with funds. Mr. Asabigi appealed to chiefs and land owners in the district to provide the bank with land to build its own structure so that money used in paying rent on the current building would be channelled in supporting local projects. Rev. Father Moses Yaboah, Catholic Priest of the Walewale Parish who was the guest of honour appealed to management of rural banks to widen their net to cover deprived communities to ensure that farmers cultivated the habit of saving. He said it was necessary to open agencies in the overseas areas of the district so that those who were reluctant to travel to Walewale to save or open accounts would so in their localities. Mr. Gyimah Patrick Attah, Head master of the Walewale Senior High who chaired the function advised management of the bank not focus on competition but should focus on quality service to make more gains.