As some banks troop to the Stock Market to raise money to help them meet the 400 million capital requirement, there are concerns that the market may not be able to provide sufficient funds for all the banks.
HFC Bank is the latest bank to announce its intention to raise 255 million cedis from the stock market after Access Bank and Energy Bank also announced their intention to hit the market.
The Bank of Ghana has set the end of 2018 as the deadline date for all banks to provide the minimum capital of 400 million cedis.
Already, Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors of indigenous banks are appealing to president Akufo-Addo to intervene in getting the Bank of Ghana to extend the deadline date for the capital requirement.
Speaking to Citi Business News on the issue, the Managing Director of HFC Bank Mr. Anthony Jordan explained that HFC Bank will fall on its mother bank, the republic bank, if local investors are unable to provide the funds to meet the target.
“The majority of the money will be coming from overseas so we are unduly not concerned about getting all from here,” he said.
“HFC Bank is a member of an international group with an asset value worth over $68.9 billion. We therefore need to give our customers and the general public the assurance that we have a strong foundation and are a sound bank. We are here to stay and to grow even bigger,” he added.
He stated that the bank has already proven that it will meet the new capital requirements and within the stated timelines.
Mr. Jordan announced that HFC bank has a strong cover ratio, due to improvement in the bank’s technology and core banking infrastructure.
He maintained that the move has given most of the bank’s branches major facelifts.
“Levels of Professionalism are high and staff were involved in the deposit mobilisation and cost management process. We have invested in Staff training and development with exchange programmes to Trinidad.
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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana