The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II says the Traditional Council is facilitating the perfection of leases to enable businesses and property owners to access credit from banks at one-third of the cost.

He was speaking during a courtesy call on him at the Manhyia Palace by Victor Yaw Asante, the Managing Director of FBNBank Ghana and his team.

The Otumfuo welcomed them to Manhyia and congratulated Mr Yaw Asante on his appointment.

The Asantehene reposed confidence in MD's abilities to deliver success in his role and encouraged the staff of FBNBank to support him in achieving the Bank's goals. 

Related to the issue of credit for businesses, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, advised FBNBank to collaborate with insurance companies in order to finance mortgages in the country using insurance endowment.

He also advised the Managing Director and his team to come up with innovative ways to engender trust among the populace in order to attract companies and individuals who have shied away from using the services of banks as a result of the situation which led to the recent financial sector clean-up. 

The Asantehene also urged FBNBank to support businesses to thrive in order to help provide a solution to the unemployment situation in the country currently.

In his view, when businesses grow, there would be a corresponding growth in employment opportunities and banks have a role to play in engendering the growth of businesses particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

In his response, Mr Yaw Asante thanked the Asantehene for his advice and congratulated him for leading socio-economic development initiatives in Asanteman in particular and Ghana as a whole.

He also congratulated Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on the occasion of his 71^st birthday anniversary and wished him God’s blessings and a successful reign.

The FBNBank Ghana MD was accompanied on the visit by the Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, SemiuLamidi, Group Head, Business Development, Azubike Obi, Treasurer, Mrs. Grace Isaac-Aryee, Country Team Lead, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Enoch Vanderpuye, Head, Public Sector, Hayford Danso, Area Head, Northern Ghana, Philip Afari and Manager, Suame Branch, Charity Kissi.

Commenting on the visit, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FBNBank, Victor Yaw Asante said, “We consider the Ashanti Region as a critical market for our activities as a Bank and we are keen to maintain a high level of stakeholder interaction and relationship building in that region.

A few weeks ago, we engaged our customers in the same region and listened to their issues with the aim of delivering better support to their business activities. Today,we have engaged the Asantehene and we appreciate every bit of our interaction with His Majesty particularly his advice.

For us at FBNBank this is what we mean when we say we put you first. Our brand promise enjoins us to place our stakeholders first and at the heart of what we do. That is what we have achieved with this visit.”