BoG to introduce new policies to boost financial sector confidence

The Bank of Ghana has announced that it is set to introduce new policies to ensure that the Banking and Special Deposit Taking Institutions sectors remain resilient, inclusive and supportive of Ghana’s economic growth trajectory.

According to the BoG, this forms part of efforts to restore confidence in the country’s financial sector.

It will be recalled that the Bank of Ghana, between 2017 and 2019, revoked the licenses of nine universal banks, 347 microfinance companies, 39 microcredit companies, 23 savings and loans and finance house companies among others.

Addressing the press at a media sensitization programme to discuss the role of media houses in building stronger special deposit taking institutions following the completion of the financial sector cleanup, Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Madam Elsie Addo Awadzi, urged the remaining financial institutions especially in the SDI sector to re – evaluate their models to help in the restructuring the financial sector.

“In order to mitigate the risk of reoccurrence of mass failures in the SDI sector, the bank of Ghana has revamped its supervision of the sector and is working on new rules on corporate governance and risk management to guide operators in the sector. In the meantime, we expect SDIs to reconsider their business modules, refine them and ensure that they are aligned to the policy objectives for which the sector was established by the Bank of Ghana. In the case of savings and loans companies and finance house companies the policy objectives of the Bank of Ghana is for you to fill what we call the missing middle,” she said.

To improve financial inclusion within the informal sector, she stated that, “Altogether, we expect the SDI sector to be the key delivery channel for financial inclusion which is a key requirement for Ghana’s socio-economic development. There are still many Ghanaians and businesses that do not have access to savings product and credit facilities.”