We will clean up banking sector and prosecute culprits - Finance Minister
To create a vibrancy in Ghana’s economy, the Finance Ministry has begun a ‘clean up’ exercise to wipe out financial institutions that are not meeting up the standards of the Ministry and the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
Read full articleThis comes after the recent shake up in the banking sector where the license of five local banks were revoked because owners could not meet the new minimum capital requirement of GHC400m by the Central Bank.
Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr Ernest Addison announced the merging of five local banks – BEIGE, Sovereign, Construction, uniBank, and Royal Bank into a Consolidated Bank of Ghana (CBG).
The action by the central bank follows an insolvency of the banks upon investigations.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced that owners of banks who have engaged in the malpractice and illegality associated with their set up and operations will also be prosecuted.
“As long as we go ahead to clean up and to prosecute so that it doesn’t happen again. But first and foremost a contagion towards economic crisis has been eliminated [and] we confident about that.” He said.
However, he noted that there will be a “careful” and “meticulous” way to go about it to prevent loss through some court proceedings.
Ken Ofori-Atta explained that the move is “really an opportunity” to build up framework for sustained growth that his outfit has envisioned.
He reiterated the Ministry’s confidence in the management of the banking system although excited about the public scare and interest. According to him, it keeps depositors “on their toes and you also become a lot more discerning where you take your money.”
While guaranteeing that clients’ deposits are safe, the Finance Minister mentioned that “sophisticated” investors who are skeptical about their monies will have the necessary steps taken to trace their investments.
“So nobody is going to get out of the net.” He assured.
