The Awutu-Emasa Rural Bank Limited at Awutu Bereku in the Awutu-Senya District of the Central Region declared a net profit of GH¢157,332 in 2010 as against GH¢124,347 in 2009. The bank total assets also increased from GH¢3,755,238 in 2009 to GH¢4,709,510 in 2010. Mr Acquah-Arhin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank, made this known at the 22nd Annual General Meeting of the shareholders at Awutu Bereku. He said total loans and advances granted to customers of the bank increased from GH¢1,837,852 in 2009 to GH¢2,554, 763 in 2010. According to him the money went into agriculture, education, the transport sector and other businesses. Mr Eric Osei-Bonsu, managing director of the ARB Apex bank, in an address, commended the management of the bank for the satisfactory performance. According to him, the operations of 34 rural banks with 233 branches and agencies have so far been automated under the ARB Apex Bank computerization program. He said “all the banks are running on the latest version of the emerge software known as T24 to argument the operations of rural banking". The MD said rural and community banks therefore log unto a central database system which would be hosted at the ARB Apex bank head office in Accra through a wide area network. He noted that the Apex link Money transfer which is a domestic transfer of funds through the Rural and Community Banks and ARB Apex Bank branches has come to fill a huge void in the National Payment System. Source: GNA