First National Savings & Loans was incorporated in 1997 with the goal of providing unparalleled excellence in banking service anytime, anyplace and anywhere.

Although First National Savings and Loans was established some eleven (11) years ago, you’d probably never heard of them until now.

This is because they’ve mostly been working in the background, offering a wide-range of financial products including employee loans, checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential loan products.

First National aims to become a true national bank for the ordinary person - students, workers, professionals, micro-small-medium scale enterprises - providing unparalleled excellence in service throughout Ghana with convenient close-to-client services. This desire to be the bank for ordinary Ghanaians is evident in all their operations, including their account opening form, which is a simple, single page form… with only half of it to be completed by the applicant.

First National Savings and Loans currently has 11 branch offices in 6 regions of Ghana, namely: North Ridge, Tema, Kasoa, Makola, Kumasi, Tarkwa, Elmina, Techiman, Obuasi and Tamale.

Products

First National provides a wide-range of innovative financial products including employee loans, checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential loan products.

What Do You Say?

Are you a current customer of First National Savings and Loans? Have you done business with them in the past. Or have you had any encounter with First National Savings and Loans in any other way? Help fellow Ghanaians… by sharing your experience with us, whether good or bad. Share your experiences with First National Bank with us.

In a talk that brought the TEDGlobal audience enthusiastically to their feet, he explains how a true liberal arts education — steeped in critical thinking, idealism, and public service — can produce the quick-thinking, ethical leaders needed to move his country forward.

Yeah, I know… this question in itself smells of acute naivety, or even stupidity, on my part. But do forgive my indulgence in this little game of stupidity, if it is indeed so. For, if we are to embark on a journey together and thrive along the way, I deem it of paramount importance that we set off with the same end in mind.

So just what is wealth? Sure, wealth is not money. For the purpose of our journey and the steps herein outlined, we’ll define wealth as the accumulation of stuff we crave for, such as food, clothes, houses, cars, gadgets, travel to interesting places, and so forth.

Thus wealth provides a kind of safety net of protection against an unforeseen decline in one’s living standard. Such unforeseen decline can result from a job loss, the loss of parent or partner, or some other emergency.

Also, wealth can be transformed from one form into another. And today, money, of which currency is one form, is the commonest medium of this transformation or exchange of wealth.

Rich Pal, Poor Pal

As I’ve said above, Wealth refers to some accumulation of stuff we want, whether abundant or not. Richness refers to an abundance of such stuff. A wealthy (or rich) person has accumulated such stuff in abundance, whereas a poor fellow has not. The opposite of wealth is destitution, and the opposite of richness is poverty.

Note also, that the concept of wealth is a relative one. It not only varies between societies, but will often vary between different sections or regions in the same society. For instance, if I drove an average “home second-hand” saloon car (that’s just a fancy name here in Ghana for a used car!) to my village today, I’d be flagged the wealthy guy. Yet no one may even notice my presence while driving such a car in Accra.

Likewise… while a person with a net worth of US$1,000,000 in the United States of America would certainly be placed among the wealthiest citizens, such an amount would constitute an extraordinary amount of wealth in a developing nation like Ghana.
Wealth Creation: Not A Zero-sum Game!

If you accept this notion that wealth refers to those things that we crave for, then you would agree with me that creating wealth begins with having clarity about those things that matter to you, those things that you truly value.

It’s only then can you set out to accumulate them.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with this concept of wealth, here is one good news to put a smile on your face: the supply of wealth, while limited, is not fixed. Wealth creation is not a zero-sum game. Thus, there is room for everyone, including YOU and I, to acquire wealth without taking from others. One’s attitude towards this issue affects the kind of social or economic system that one prefers.

I, George Appiah, have made a personal decision to accumulate wealth through conscious and smart life choices, prudent time and financial stewardship, and creating exceptional value for others in exchange for a fair compensation.

This wealth, I reckon, when sufficiently accumulated, will provide a kind of safety net of protection against an unforeseen decline in my ability to practice my trade to earn a living. It will also afford me the rare luxury of never having to worry about where my next meal would come from, so I can direct all my energies into what I truly care about in this life.

And I started this website — CediWISE.com — to share with you, my dear reader, my triumphs and the challenges I encounter along this journey to wealth and abundance.

Below is a copy of the mail:

We regret to inform you that iKobo is discontinuing services. Effective immediately, no further money transfers to your iKobo account will be allowed. Your card issued by Palm Desert National Bank will continue to be active until November 13, 2008. Your card will no longer work after this date. However, the card funds are safe and guaranteed, even after the card is de-activated.

Please use your card at an ATM or to make purchases between now and November 13 to spend down the balance of funds on your card. Any remaining balance as of November 13, 2008 will be refunded to the sender, the US resident, as stated in the bank cardholder agreement (https://www.ikobo.com, link at bottom of page to “US Program Terms and Conditions”) .

We will assist you in any way possible. If you have any further questions regarding the above notice please contact us at info@ikobo.com.

It has been a pleasure serving you and we appreciate your business. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

Sincerely,
iKobo

Despite the name (”kobo” is the subunit of the Nigerian currency, naira), iKobo is an Atlanta, Georgia, US-based VC-funded company and has no Nigerian links at all. The company was founded in 2001 to offer the market a better, faster, safer and more economical solution to international person-to-person money transfers.

I used iKobo’s service in the past to pay an Indian ghost writer I hired to write some articles for me. I’ve also received payments through iKobo’s service before. Unlike the many negative comments on TechCrunch, all my transactions went through smoothly and pretty fast. Too bad to see them go.

In a key note address to commission the building, Mr. Franklin Kwabena Asamoah, Board member of the Bank said GCB has adopted efficient branch branding to promote the growth of businesses and individuals’ wealth. This channel of distributing the Bank’s network has far reaching impact, as many of customers get access to convenient banking services, he added.

He traced the relationship between GCB and KNUST to 1960 when the first branch was opened on campus to serve the academic community and its surrounding areas. Today, business with KNUST has grown to the point where KNUST is classified as a corporate customer of the Bank, with 88 domestic and 25 foreign accounts.

Professor K.K. Adarkwa, Vice-Chancellor of KNUST commended the Board of GCB for its good work by putting up the building within a very short time. The sod was cut for work to commence on this building exactly a year ago. Prof. Adarkwa welcomed the introduction of a second branch on campus adding that this will bring enhanced and convenient services to the numerous customers of the Bank.

Present at the ceremony were the Board Chairman, Mr. K. G. Osei-Bonsu, Mr. L.N. Adu-Mante, Managing Director of GCB, Mr. Samuel Sarpong, Dy. Managing Director of the Bank in charge of Operations and Mr. Samuel Amankwah, Dy. Managing Director in charge of Finance. Other Directors of the Board who were present are Dr. E.M. Debrah and Mr. Peter Ocran.

Norway’s Aker said on Thursday it had been awarded the exploration block in a “promising province”, where it pledged to carry out seismic surveys and drill a well in 2011.

Aker is best known as a holding company for firms, including engineering powerhouse Aker Solutions, that provide services to oil and gas companies. But Roekke has also dreamt of becoming an oil producer himself.

“We are traditionally known for offshore engineering and services but are gradually adding the licence-holder element — and the Ghana acreage builds on that strategic move,” Geir Arne Drangeid, executive vice president of Aker ASA, told Reuters.

Aker owns 57.7 percent of Aker Exploration, which holds licences off Norway and hopes to use the holding company’s capabilities to secure competitive advantage.

Roekke’s business model goes against a trend in the oil industry for producers to sell off service units and hire contractors for specific jobs.

Aker said the Ghana acreage, located near the Jubilee discovery in the Gulf of Guinea, will “generate exciting opportunities for several Aker companies.”

“It’s too early to be very specific,” Drangeid said. “But if and when we discover hydrocarbons (oil and gas) and the project comes to the development stage we have the companies that can be involved throughout the field’s life cycle,” he added.

“Aker is able to cut the time span from identification of resources to production of first oil and time is money.”

Drangeid said Aker Floating Production and Aker Solutions combined to develop storage, subsea equipment and engineering “in record time” in a recent project in India. He stressed, however, that deals must be financially viable.

“It’s not an automatic — Aker companies have to bring the right technology and costs,” he said in an interview.

The Jubilee discovery — believed to hold between 500 million and 1.8 billion barrels of recoverable resources — has made offshore Ghana a promising oil and gas prospect which Aker now wants to exploit, possibly with partners.

“This is one of the topics on top of our agenda and it will ultimately determine how we work in Ghana,” Drangeid said about the prospects of engaging an outside partner.

“One route is taking on a bigger oil company and another is a smaller partner, which would involve more work for ourselves,” he said, adding that talks with potential partners had begun.

Under the deal with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Aker will hold 85 percent in the South Deepwater Tano block covering 3,500 square km, the size of eight blocks offshore Norway and in water depths from 2,000 to 3,000 metres.

So far, Aker said it would invest $25-30 million in seismic surveys due to start in the first quarter of 2009. Drilling the first exploration well is planned for 2011.

Drangeid said Aker was not too concerned about dropping oil prices, which have halved since mid-year peaks, believing that in the long term more petroleum resources will be needed.

“We take a very long perspective…that the world will need more energy and with our technical expertise and competence we are in a good position to help provide it,” he said. (Editing by Anthony Barker).

[Source: The Ghanaian Journal]

Another GH¢ 400,000 which got missing earlier before the MD assumed office is being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in Sekondi. Government has already set up a seven-member committee to investigate the alleged malfeasance at the GRC.

When the Committee investigating the allegations of financial malpractices, chaired by Hon. Albert Kwaku Obbin, Member of Parliament (MP) for Prestea Huni- Valley and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Transportation queried the two -MD and FC over the unaccounted money, the two blatantly denied knowledge of it.

The FC, who was the first to appear before the committee admitted that he cashed the said amount, but said he was acting upon the instructions of the MD. He had reported this claim in his earlier correspondence to the committee.

When the MD, who is currently on leave was first invited by the committee to respond to the allegation, he vehemently denied knowledge but when the cheques were shown to him, he could not defend it. He allegedly told the committee that he cashed the money and gave it to government officials who were on assignment at the company.

The cheques were issued and paid by both Ghana Commercial Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Albert Kwaku Obbin has refused to comment on the matter when asked by reporters at the last sitting of the committee in Takoradi, last Friday. His reason was that since the’ committee would come out at the end of its investigations, there was no need for him to jump the gun.

Meanwhile, the Committee has dismissed application by Mr. Rufus Quaye that he wants his lawyers to represent him at the committee sitting. The dismissal follow reasons giving by the committee that since the former MD had appeared twelve times on the committee sitting, the committee did not see reason in allowing his lawyers to represent him. Hon. Albert Kwaku Obbin disclosed this to Journalists to end the committee sitting in Takoradi.

When Chronicle contacted Mr. Rufus Quaye on phone, he said the amount involved is GH¢65,OOO and not GH¢285,OOO as being alleged. He said the amount was part of the impress he has been signing for officials and that the money did not go into his personal pocket. He said, currently there is a controversy surrounding GH¢12,OOO of the amount because the FC was not retiring the impress as he should be doing.

According to Rufus Quaye, when he assumed office as acting MD, he discovered that GH¢400,OOO had gone missing from the accounts of the company. He said because he was alarmed about this he decided to report the matter to the Serious Fraud Office in Sekondi, which is still investigating the case.

Quaye alleged that his decision to report the matter to the SFO did not go down well with some of the people involved, and therefore, they made all sorts of allegations against him. He was hopeful that at the end of the day he would be cleared.

[From The Ghanaian Chronicle]

Additional 150,000.00 Ghana cedis were allocated to each of the regions to renovate regional venues that were to be used for the celebrations.

Mr Mpiani was responding to questions on cash and resources given to each region for preparations towards the celebrations between 2006 and 2008. He said an amount of 20,000 Ghana cedis and assorted souvenirs were also given to the regions while “each of the 138 district assemblies was given an amount of 10,000 Ghana cedis for the jubilee day activities”.

In response to another question on the circumstances surrounding the deployment of armed security personnel to the residence of the former National Security Minister, Mr Francis Poku, and his subsequent departure from Ghana, Mr Mpiani said he had no idea how he left the country.

He said at the time the minister was removed from office, his official residence was being guarded by the military. Mr Mpiani said this was contrary to the directive that the police should provide security for all members of the Executive, including the President.

“An exercise was therefore undertaken to replace the military with police personnel,” he said.

Dr Richard Anane, Minister of Road Transportation, who was also in Parliament to answer questions, said the construction of three interchanges across the Accra-Tema motorway, the widening of the Spintex road and other projects to be implemented soon, would help minimise the use of un-authorised exits and entries from and onto the Tema Motorway.

Mrs Gladys Asmah, Minister of Fisheries, told members of the House that plans were in place to develop an improved breed of tilapia along the Volta Lake and efforts were being made to encourage people to invest in cage and pen fish culture along the lake, as part of measures to revamp the fishing industry in the Volta Lake.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Addressing workers from both formal and informal sectors at Saltpond in the Mfantseman Municipality, Mrs Irene Wontumi, a member of committee said the Presidential Commission on Pensions set up in 2004 recommended a three-tier scheme for workers.

This, she said would help address disparity between the Cap 30 and Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for the formal sector workers on retirement. Mrs. Wontumi explained that the first tier to be known as State Basic Social Security involved mandatory contributions of 18.5 per cent made up of 13.0 per cent by employer and 5.5 per cent by employee.

She said that 2.5 per cent would go into the National Health Insurance Scheme and 11 per cent for pensions. Mrs. Wontumi said five per cent would go into the second tier to be known as occupational or workplace scheme which would also be mandatory.

She said the third tier, which is a voluntary or personal scheme, has no fixed rate and was created mainly for people from the informal sector, even though workers from the formal sector could also join it.

She said Pension Regulatory Authority would be established to manage the new system and fund managers would be engaged to determine the application of the funds for the second tier to yield dividends.

Mrs Wontumi said workers who were above the 55 years old were not qualified to benefit from the new pension scheme, which would take off next year. She said some experts were engaged to work out how previous contributions made by workers could be fixed into the new system.

Mrs Wontumi said that contributors could use the occupational pension scheme or the second tier as collateral to access loans.

Chief Musah Adam, also a member of the committee, gave the assurance that safety features had been put in place to prevent misuse of the pension funds. He explained that contributions from the informal sector would be divided into two, with one going into personal savings and the other into retirement account, which could be converted into monthly pension for contributors.

Mr Robert Quainoo-Arthur, Mfantseman Municipal Chief Executive, advised workers to keep their employment documents safely in order not to be found wanting when asked to produce them for processing of their retirement benefits. He advised workers to start working on their claims about a year to retirement.

Source: GNA

Hello, and thanks for passing by. CediWISE is a new startup with one single mission: to help Smart Ghanaians create wealth from their current income by prudently managing their finances.

There’s only one sure and fool-proof way to wealth and total financial freedom that we know of, which is to … spend less than you earn and do something smart with the difference.

Common sense, right? Yet isn’t it amazing how often we get it all upside down: spending money we don’t have, on things we don’t really need, often to impress the Joneses next do and people we don’t really love.

If you’re genuinely ready to make the difficult sacrifices now for a better life tomorrow, hand along. CediWISE is here to give you all the practical guides and free tools to help you earn more, spend less, and prudently invest your hard-earned money for exceptional returns.

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