The bank of Ghana (BoG) has advised commercial banks who may not be able to meet the GHS400 million minimum capital requirement by December 2018 to apply for a reduction in the class of their licenses from a universal bank status or risk closure.
According to the special advisor to the governor of the BoG, Dr Benjamin Amoah, whereas there was still a window of opportunity for the banks that were yet to meet the requirements to explore mergers, applying for a reduction in the class of license to become financial institutions or microfinance companies would ensure that the owners of those banks would be able to maintain their businesses.
“the BoG has a tier system made up of the universal banks, savings and loans, rural banks and microfinance institutions, so, if you cannot meet the standard requirements of a universal bank, it will be appropriate to apply to be reduced to a lower class, which is equally allowed,” Dr Amoah told the daily graphic on the sidelines of a financial reporting workshop organised by members of journalists for business advocacy (JBA), in partnership with Ecobank Ghana.
The programme, on the theme, “understanding the financial market — the role of journalists”, was to develop the capacity of journalists to be able to report critically on issues relating to the development of the financial market.
representatives of the BoG— Dr Simon Harvey, Natalia Lawson, and Stephen Amoah — educated the participants on the monetary policy, promoting financial stability and regulating the microfinance industry.
Answering questions on panic withdrawals, Dr Amoah stated that the present financial market did not call for panic withdrawals.
“I do not think it is necessary because no bank can meet depositors withdrawing all their money at a go, since they may not be able to meet the withdrawal structure owing to the fact that money is deposited in banks as a means of financial intermediation,” Dr Amoah said.
