Sonzele Community Bank PLC has launched an aggressive share mobilisation campaign to meet the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) new GH₵5 million minimum capital requirement by December 2026 while rewarding its shareholders with a substantial 25.8% dividend payout for the 2025 financial year. The bank, which currently has a stated capital of GH₵2.28 million, is calling on indigenes, members of the diaspora, and the youth to increase their investments to bridge the capital shortfall and secure the financial institution’s future. Speaking at the bank’s 36th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Jirapa, Board Chairman Michael Zuraih revealed that despite economic turbulence and falling Treasury bill rates, the bank’s total assets grew by 19.19% to GH₵84.3 million in 2025.
Outlining the regulator’s new directive, Mr Zuraih noted that the BoG now requires all rural and community banks to rebrand. “The Bank of Ghana has recently issued a directive requiring all rural and community banks in the country to change their names to ‘Community Banks’ and to increase their minimum stated capital from GH₵1 million to GH₵5 million by 31 December 2026,” Mr Zuraih stated. To mitigate the economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the central bank had previously halted dividend payments for seven years.
However, following a pre-tax profit of GH₵3.7 million in 2025, Sonzele Community Bank secured regulatory approval to reward its investors. “The Board is proposing a payment of GH₵0.258 per share for the year under review,” the Board Chairman announced, representing an impressive 25.8% return on investment. Reiterating the bank’s financial strength, Chief Executive Officer Abdul-Sallam Bamie emphasised that the rebranding from a “rural bank” to a “community bank” is a strategic move aimed at greater inclusivity, particularly to attract younger investors.
“The change to ‘Community Bank’ is also intended to provide a wider, much more inclusive identity. Because when you say ‘rural bank,’ it is limiting,” Mr Bamie explained. “I don’t know where else you can put your money and get about a 25.8% return in just one year, while your share capital in the bank remains intact.” The urgency of the recapitalisation drive drew high-profile political and traditional support at the AGM.
Upper West Regional Minister Charles Lwanga Puozuing, who revealed that he is also a shareholder, challenged the people of the …
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