By J. K Nabary
Breman Asikuma (C/R), June 16, GNA-The ARB Apex Bank PLC has applauded the Board, Management, Staff and stakeholders of the Brakwa Community Bank PLC for diligently serving the Brakwa community and its catch area with excellent baking for the past four decades.
âFour decades of service to Breman community and its environs is a remarkable achievement that deserves celebration,â the ARB said.
Mr Curtis William Brantuo, the Acting Managing Director on behalf of ARB APEX Bank made the commendation in an address delivered by Mr Kofi Owusu of the Bank at the 40th Annual Stakeholdersâ meeting at Breman Asikuma.
He stated that community banks like Brakwa Breman continued to play critical roles in Ghanaâs financial landscape, bringing banking services to underserved communities.
They also provided essential credit to small, and medium enterprises and the agricultural sector, mobilising local savings for productive investment, serving as anchors of community development beyond traditional banking.
âARB Apex Bank acknowledges the collective efforts of community banks in maintaining depositor confidence, improving asset quality and also supporting local economic recovery,â he stated.
According to Mr Brantuo, the ARB Apex Bank continued to emphasise strong corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and prudent risk management as non-negotiable pillars, saying key expectations including, strict adherence to Bank of Ghana directives, Board oversight and management accountability, as well as robust credit risk management, recovery systems and tolerance for insider-related infractions.
He informed the gathering that the Bank of Ghana had set a minimum paid-up capital requirement of five million Ghana Cedis for all existing community banks across the country and it was a mandatory threshold that must be achieved within the stipulated regulatory timeline.
He therefore encouraged Brakwa Community Bank to assess its current state capital position and take immediate decisive action to bridge any capital gap through stakeholdersâ contributions, retained earning capitalisation or other approved strategies.
He disclosed that Bank of Ghana had provided pathways for compliance, and they include, the opportunity for stakeholders to mobilise additional capital to meet the five million Ghana Cedis requirement through cash injections or conversion of retained earnings, and banks which could not individually meet the requirement may merge with other community banks to achieve the said minimum capital threshold collectively.
He observed that the banksâ inability to meet the requirement may voluntarily surrender their licenses under controlled exit arrangement to protect depositors.
âThe deadline for compliance is firm, and failure to meet the capital requirements within the regulatory timeline may result in sanctions, operational restrictions, heightened supervisory interventions or license revocation,â he stated.
Mr Brantuo stated that Brakwa Bankâs outstanding 2025 performance positioned it strongly to attract shareholders confidence for capital strengthening as their total assets grew impressively by 38.0 percent, from GHc54.72 to GHc75.52 million
This demonstrated expanding capacity and stakeholder confidence while deposits recorded remarkable growth of 337.68 percent increasing from GHc47.5 million to GHc65.4 million.
According to him the bankâs Loans and Advances grew by an exceptional 56.67 percent from GHc20.88 million to GHc32.72 million demonstrating strong commitment to financing local economic activities and Profit before Tax grew by 119.87 percent from GHc1,079,731 to GHc2,374,218 reflecting operational excellence and strategic execution.
âThis remarkable performance places Brakwa Breman among the sectorâs best performers and ARB Apex Bank congratulates the Board, Management and staff for this outstanding achievement and we reaffirm our commitment to working with you at building a resilient, trusted and development-oriented banking network.
âAs you celebrate 40 years of service, may you find renewed commitment to take this institution to even greater heights,â Mr Brantuo added.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/Benjamin Mensah