Chief Executive of Barclays Africa Regional Management and Head of Strategy, Kennedy Bungane has resigned. His resignation takes effect from 18 June 2014. It’s unclear where he will be heading to but a statement from Barclays Africa Group Limited said Mr Bungane had resigned to pursue other business interests. Kennedy, whose career spans over 23 years in the banking industry, said: “After a fulfilling career I have decided to change industries and gain new experiences. I am privileged to have

The Fiaseman Rural Bank Limited at Bogoso in the Prestea Huni-Valley of the Western Region has posted a very impressive operational performance in all financial indicators in the 2013 year under review. In spite of a challenging economic environment the bank posted a quite remarkable pre-tax profit of GH¢2,502,768 compared to the GH¢1,828,387 recorded in 2012, representing a growth of 37%. Total deposit liabilities increased from GH¢22,955,334 in 2012 to GH¢30,108,802 -- a satisfactory growth

Africa World Airlines (AWA) is to acquire two A319 aircraft by the end of the year as it scales up its West African operations. The airline, which currently flies twice daily to the populous West African City of Lagos, plans to start servicing the Accra-Abuja route by July. Freetown, Monrovia, Banjul and Dakar are the next routes in the sub-region that the airline plans to operate by the end of the year. Africa World Airlines’ Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mr. Apiigy Afenu, said: “We look

Travelling by air decades ago was just to be able to safely commute from one point to the other by air. Airlines paid more attention to safety and little to customers’ comfort and the extra on-ground benefits. In today's competitive business environment, airlines have placed passengers at the centre of their business decisions. Travellers don't just want to fly from point A to B but to enjoy the whole travelling experience, which begins with the decision to travel by air. Indeed, traveller-value

The Head of Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department at the Bank of Ghana, Mr. Raymond Amanfu, has asked stakeholders of the rural banking industry to introduce stringent measures to fight credit risk, which remains a challenge to the operations of rural community banks in the country. “RCBs need to retrain their credit staff, revise credit underwriting standards and improve collections strategies.” Given the current competitiveness of the banking environment, and the microfinance

The Efficiency and Monitoring Unit (EMU) of the ARB Apex Bank Limited, mandated to assess and analyse the performance of all rural banks in the country on quarterly basis, has recorded zero unsatisfactory rural banks in December 2013. The Unit used the ‘SCALE’ Composite Rating System to analyse the performance of 136 rural banks which operated at the end of the fourth quarter 2013 under review. The system looks at the size of the bank, its capital, assets quality, liquidity as well as its earnings. The

Africa is "taking off" with strong, steady growth but poverty is unacceptably high so that governments need to build infrastructure and institutions and educate people to share the benefits more widely, the IMF's head said last week Thursday. Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow by around 5.5 percent this year - well above the global average - with some of its poorest countries expanding by closer to 7 percent, Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director,

Azadea Group, a premier fashion and lifestyle retail company, has announced a partnership which makes it the exclusive franchisee to establish a retail chain for Payless ShoeSource, the specialty family footwear retailer, in Ghana. The partnership is aimed at leveraging Payless’ capabilities of creating a unique and delightful store experience through a trend-right product mix that appeals to the budget-conscious shopper, as well as Azadea’s established competencies in operating retail concepts

Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited has opened another agency at Abeka Lapaz to cater for the banking convenience of its customers. This brings to 28 the total number of GTBank outlets operating in the country. It is located at H/No. B49/30 on the main N1 motorway, opposite the Abrantie Spot at Abeka Lapaz. The new agency offers extended banking hours on weekdays from 8:00am to 8:00pm and on Saturdays from 9:00am to 4:00pm for the convenience of customers and non-customers alike. The agency will

Newmont Africa has appointed Johan Ferreira Regional Senior Vice President of Newmont Mining Corporation’s Africa Operations. Mr. Ferreira joined Newmont Africa in 2012 as the Group Executive Operations and led a cross-functional team that focused on improving the safety, operational and cost performance of the region. Prior to joining Newmont, Mr. Ferreira held leadership positions with AngloGold Ashanti’s South Africa region where he was the Senior Vice President in Charge of Operations.

The Forest Service Division (FSD) has asked government to stiffen measures to fight the activities of illegal miners, as operators have adopted a new approach to degrade forests reserves and other lands. “Illegal mining is causing serious destruction to our environment, water-bodies and forests. We appeal to government to put in place measures to avoid further losses,” Mr. Isaac Noble Eshun, the Ashanti Regional Assistant Manager of FSD said. He observed that the nationwide crusade against illegal

Property rates and rent taxes will soon be reviewed to reflect their current economic value, Dr. Larbi Siaw, Tax Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, has said. Property income taxation has long been seen as an area largely neglected by the country’s tax authorities. Its share of GDP in Ghana is 0.03 percent, compared to an average of 1.8 percent in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member-countries. In the UK, taxes on property are worth 4.2