Thus, from the start of our republic individual states insisted on being able to charter their own banks, and were suspicious of the federal government’s efforts to do so. It was not until the trauma of the Civil War that Congress passed a National Bank Act that allowed for extensive federal chartering and supervision of banks.
The NEDCO programme has built a client base of 5,600 businesses and has advanced close to $ million in loans to various sectors including light manufacturing, services, and food and agro-processing. Since 2002, close to 5,000, persons have also benefited from the training and mentorship programmes.