Mr Jonas Osei-Yankson, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Twifo Rural Bank, on Saturday disclosed that the Bank recorded a profit after tax of 408 million cedis for the year 2005, as against 340 million cedis in 2004. He said this feat was achieved against the backdrop of a drastic fall in income from the Akuafo Cheque, being operated by Licensed Cocoa Buying Companies, coupled with the high cost of diesel, amounting to 54 million cedis in that year at which the Bank had run its head office due to lack of electricity in the town. Mr Osei-Yankson, who was addressing the 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Bank at Twifo-Agona, said despite these challenges, the Bank declared a dividend of four cedis per share, equivalent to the dividend in 2004, saying it was as a reminder to the shareholders that the Bank would meet their expectations. He said total deposits mobilized by the bank also increased from 9.8 billion cedis in 2004 to 11.4 billion cedis in 2005, and that 5.3 billion cedis was granted as loans in 2005 to individuals, organizations and corporate bodies. Mr Osei-Yankson commended his colleague board members, management and staff of the Bank and urged them to increase the tempo to achieve more successes in the years ahead. In a speech read for him, Mr Emmanuel Kwapong, Managing Director of the ARB APEX Bank, said the current relative stability and improvement in the economy had led to a downturn in interest rates on treasury bills and notes, one of the main sources of income for the rural banks. He said interest on loans granted, fees and commissions on other transactions now constituted the alternatives to income from treasury bills and notes, and therefore urged the bank to expand its activities in the area of microfinance and advances in general. According to him, microfinance, when prudently handled, could bring a huge income to the bank as well as help improve the livelihood of the beneficiaries and promote rapid growth in its operational areas. He advised the bank to put a well resourced Credit and Project department in place to ensure a successful credit delivery, and urged the shareholders to guard against favouritism and nepotism when electing people to serve as directors of the bank. Mr Francis Agyarku, manager of the Bank, apart from Twifo-Agona, where its head office is located, it also has five agencies at Dunkwa, Nyinase, Hemang, Twifo-Praso and Abura, a suburb of Cape Coast. He urged all loan defaulters to pay up to avoid prosecution. He also appealed to the government to institute measures to enforce the use of Akuafo Cheque by all Licensed Cocoa Buying Companies. GNA