Customers of defunct banks demand locked-up savings
NPP accuse NDC of superintending over mismanagement of financial sector
A leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has credited the party for saving the financial sector from collapse when it assumed office in 2017.
According to him, the banking sector cleanup that the Akufo-Addo-led administration embarked on helped to sustain the ecosystem although it came at a cost of GH¢25 billion.
In a post on his social media handle, Mr. Otchere-Darko indicated that the intervention by the government of the day had been of enormous benefit as it has led to a resilient banking sector presently.
“NPP came in to meet a banking crisis, which could collapse the entire financial sector. It applied a clean-up that cost over 25 billion cedis. The banking sector is today sound. Some policies are as good as the support it gets from the people, even if opposition is against it,” he tweeted.
Ghana’s banking sector clean-up occurred between August 2017 and January 2020 when the country allowed indigenous banks to take over some non-performing banks.
This was to strengthen Ghana’s banking sector.
The clean-up according to the government cost GH¢11.7 billion as cited in the 2020 budget statement.
The exercise saw a reduction in the number of banks from 34 to 23 currently, whilst 347 micro-finance institutions, 15 savings and loans, and 8 finance houses had their licenses revoked.
Those affected included UT Bank, Capital Bank, Sovereign Bank, Beige Bank, Premium Bank, The Royal Bank, Heritage Bank, Construction Bank, and UniBank.
Despite the GH¢11.7 billion figure in the budget, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta during a press briefing on Thursday, March 24, 2022, said, the clean-up exercise cost government GH¢25 billion.
Gabby Otchere-Darko is a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP)