ARB Apex Bank is a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

wholesale bank that provides funding and coordination to the Rural & Community Banks (RCBs) in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. In effect it acts as a ''mini central bank'' to the Rural banks in Ghana. The acronym ARB stands for the Association of Rural Banks. In Ghana, rural banks are financed mainly via the

Rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

Financial Services Project (RFSP), that is a project of the government to solve the operational problems of the rural financial sector. Every Rural and Community

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

was mandated to contribute two thousand Ghana cedi to buy shares of the ARB – Apex bank Ltd, to enable the bank become accountable to the rural and community banks. So every rural and community bank in Ghana owns two thousand Ghana cedi worth of shares in Apex

Bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

. The remaining shares of the bank are also owned by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of Ghana.

History

In 1969, the All India Rural Credit Review Committee recommended that Apex co-operative banks directly finance co-operative societies. *January 2000 - bank was registered as a public limited liability company *June 2001 - received a

banking license In most legal jurisdictions, a financial institution is required to obtain a banking licence before it is legally permitted to carry on a banking business. Besides other requirements, such a business is not permitted to contain in its name words ...

*August 2001 - admitted to the Bankers

Clearing House Clearing house or Clearinghouse may refer to: Banking and finance * Clearing house (finance) * Automated clearing house * ACH Network, an electronic network for financial transactions in the U.S. * Bankers' clearing house * Cheque clearing * Cl ...

as the 19th member. *March 2021 - admitted into the Ghana-Sweden Chamber of Commerce. It started its banking business on 2 July 2002. In 2018, it claimed to be the first bank in

to issue bank cards to

EMV EMV is a payment method based on a technical standard for smart card, smart payment cards and for payment terminals and automated teller machines which can accept them. EMV stands for "Europay International, Europay, Mastercard, and Visa Inc., ...

standards which allow payments on the Gh-link platform.

Operations

The apex financial institution lends cash to rural banks who, in turn, provide small credit to small businesses and also support the development of rural projects. Besides the head office, there are ten branch offices throughout the country, including locations in

Bolgatanga Bolgatanga (Frafra language, Frafra: ''Bɔlegataŋa''), colloquially known as ''Bolga'', is a town and also the capital of the Bolgatanga Municipal District, Bolgatanga Municipal and the Upper East Region of Ghana. It shares a Burkina Faso–Gh ...

Hohoe Hohoe is a town and the district capital of Hohoe Municipality located in the Volta Region of Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Koforidua Koforidua, also popularly known as K.dua or Koftown and now Kofcity, is a city and the capital of Eastern Region, Ghana, Eastern Region of Ghana. The city has a population of 183,727 people as of 2010. The city is a blend of colonial and moder ...

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of Ghana, Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Ac ...

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

Sunyani Sunyani () is a city and the capital of the Sunyani Municipal District and the Bono Region of Ghana. The city is located about northwest of Kumasi and away from Accra. It is the sixth largest city in the country as of the 2010 census, with ...

Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi ( ) is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan District and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city as well as ...

, Wa,

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish language, Spanish , is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of ''masa'', a dough made from nixtamalization, nixtamalized maize, corn, which is steaming, steamed in a corn husk or Banana leaf, banana leaves. The wrapping ...

, and

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

References

{{Reflist Banks of Ghana Companies based in Accra Banks established in 2001 Ghanaian companies established in 2001