The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) says it will continue to use competitive pricing to help businesses in the country to sustain their growth. The bank would always study the market carefully and price its products competitively, while being mindful not to pass on so much cost to the customer, the Head of Corporate and Customer Relations, Mr Adam Sulley, told the Daily Graphic. The bank has maintained a base rate of 18 per cent since last year when the Bank of Ghana (BoG) prime rate was at 13.5 per cent. The bank's base rate as published by the BoG last week after the prime rate had moved to 14.25 per cent had remained at 18 per cent. The highest annual percentage rate (APR) of 41.00 per cent was almost twice that of the 23.58 per cent for ADB. The APR is the true interest rate that the banks charge the public and represents the cost of borrowing. Mr Sulley said keeping the cost of credit that low at the bank was an indication of "how far the bank is willing to help individuals and banks to sustain their businesses." When it comes to its core business, financing agriculture, he said the bank offered credits at rates three to four percentage points below the prime rate. "As one of the indigenous banks in the country we want to make sure we remain competitive in pricing," the head of corporate and customer relations said. He explained that the bank was also doing all it could to step up its service delivery having invested heavily in information and communications technology. ADB's expansive network also posed a challenge to service delivery, but Mr Sulley said it was taking service delivery and customer care seriously and when it came to the rural areas it stood tall. Asked whether the bank could sustain the performance, he said "ADB is in a comfortable position to retain its competitiveness." Source: Daily Graphic