Misrata businessmen want better banking

By Taher Zaroog

Misrata, 27 October 2013:

Misrata is looking for a better and more efficient service from the country’s banks and has . . .[restrict]been telling a group of top line bankers just what it wants.

Board directors and senior executives from Gumhouria Bank sat down with members of the city council,  the Misrata Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other local businessmen to discuss  how the banking system could play a more productive role in investment and economic growth.

Misrata, the most-damaged city in the Revolution is now seen as the fastest recovering in economic terms.  At the meeting in the Hall of Iron and Steel, the team from Gumhouria Bank, which has four Misrata branches, was told that the banking system ought to be working to remove all hindrances to the expansion of lending and financing, for both commercial and industrial projects.

Also on the agenda was the issue of Islamic banking and its implications, as well as the need for an end to traditional banking practices, and a rapid adoption of electronic banking systems and interbank clearances.

Misrata’s entrepreneurs told the Gumhouria bankers that a raft of legislation was needed, including depositor guarantees and clarification on the use of property as collateral.

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