Prudential Bank pledges more support for SMEs
Prudential Bank Limited (PBL) has opened its 35th branch at Nungua, Accra, with a firm pledge to offer more support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and non-traditional exports.
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The Deputy Managing Director in charge of Finance, Administration & Credit of the bank, Dr J. Okine-Afrane, who announced this at a ceremony to officially open the new branch, said PBL was committed to making banking services truly beneficial to the people.
“This is why we continue to open more branches to bring our services to the doorstep of our customers. In addition to this new outlet, we have 21 branches and two agencies in Accra/Tema, six in Kumasi, two each in Takoradi and Cape Coast, and one each in Techiman and Tamale,” he pointed out.
He said the bank had resolved to provide banking services to all sectors of the economy with special focus on micro, small and medium-scale enterprises engaged in trading, handicraft production and export.
“We also have packages for players in the fishing and cold storage business, transport services, hospitals and clinics, hotels and guest houses, food processing, manufacturing, furniture production, churches, catering, among others,” he assured.
The Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations, Mrs Mary Brown, emphasised the bank’s determination to make banking easy for its customers, saying, “We provide a one-stop-shop banking service that is convenient as all our branches are networked. Through our correspondent banks, we are able to execute business transactions anywhere in the world within 24 hours. In line with the rapid technological developments in banking, we have introduced products such as the cashWise ATM services, textWise sms banking services, alertWise transaction notification services and netWise Internet banking services, among others,’’ she said
“The bank will soon roll out VISA Card services and also add on a mobile banking platform which will include money transfer services, mobile money, third-party payment and cardless transactions in a bid to improve financial inclusion for small and medium-scale enterprises and individuals who ordinarily would have no access to banking services,” Mrs Brown added.
She encouraged Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of saving, pointing out that the initial deposit for opening a Ghana Cedi savings account is only GH¢10.00 and GH¢20.00 for a current account, while for a US dollar account one needed US$100.00 or its equivalent in other foreign currency.
“Our interest rates are among the lowest in the industry. All our charges and interest rates are negotiable,” she stressed. She charged the bank’s staff to offer exemplary customer services by being friendly, honest, approachable, well cultured and proactive.