The President of the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) and Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Ghana, Alhassan Andani has stated that 20% of the banks in Ghana control about 80% of the loans in the country and those banks are safe and nowhere near closing down.
He made these remarks at the JoyBusiness Financial Services Forum in Accra.
It was on the theme ‘The Changing Tide of Ghana’s Financial Services Sector; The Cause, The Cost and The Clean-up.’
The forum brought together a plethora of players in Ghana’s financial services industry; from the banking and non-bank financial institutions, the capital markets and the insurance sub-sector.
Mr. Andani in his submissions sought to reassure the banking public and the wider financial community that the banking system is safe and sound and that there was no need for panic.
Putting numbers to his submissions, he said, 20% of the banks will translate into 6 banks. According to the Bank of Ghana there are currently 30 universal banks operating in the country as at August 2018, down from 34 banks in July, 2018 (merger of 5 local banks into Consolidated Bank Ghana).
According to the Bank of Ghana’s July, 2018 Banking Sector Report, the banking industry’s stock of gross loans and advances (both domestic and foreign) was GH¢38.71 billion as at end June 2018. Computing 80% of this will amount to GH¢30.97 billion. Thus six of the 30 banks in Ghana give a total of GH¢30.97 billion worth of loans as at June 2018, all things being equal.
Transparency and communication of regulators
The President of the Ghana Association of Bankers also said the regulators in the financial services industry, such as the Bank of Ghana had done well in its approach to communicating to the public on the issues that went on in the banking sector.
“You can say that we are now into a regime of much more rigorous, transparent and timely communication from the Bank of Ghana and they should be commended for that”
Mr. Andani also advised we dispel the notion of political undertones in the Central Bank’s sharing of information.
He again added that members of the financial community were not use to this kind of approach to sharing information by the Bank of Ghana, but he believes it is for the good of the entire financial community and the general public.
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