Local banks are now better positioned to support economic growth - Ofori-Atta
- Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has given his support to the cleanup of the banking sector in Ghana
- According to him, the banks are now better positioned to do business in the country
- He added that it is a lot better if the country has fewer but stronger banks
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The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has indicated that local banks in Ghana are now better positioned to support economic growth.
According to him, this is the result of the banking sector reforms that took place in 2017 and 2018.
He explained that Ghanaian banks now have good looking balance sheets and are more resistant to shocks.
Source: UGC
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Ofori-Atta, speaking in a post-mid-year budget interview, stated that it is a lot better to have fewer but stronger banks.
Having several weak banks, citibusinessnews.com quotes him as saying, does not help with economic development through lending.
Ofori-Atta argued that it serves no purpose to have weak banks in the system even if they are owned by Ghanaians.
The reason, he went on, was because such banks are not in a good position to lend support to critical sectors of the economy.
He added that some of the banks that existed before the banking sector cleanup were primarily surviving on liquidity support from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and therefore placing funds of depositors at risk.
Ofori-Atta also noted that deposits from customers were in jeopardy and, as such, the government needed to intervene.
Citing an example, he stated that the decision to merge five weak banks to form the Consolidated Bank of Ghana (CBG) has created one of the most promising financial institutions in the country.
In other news, the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has registered an impressive performance in its half-year results.
Despite the outbreak of the coronavirus, the bank managed to grow in all key performance areas. These areas included assets, deposits, loans, and net interest income.
According to the bank’s unaudited half-year results, its assets grew by over 17.17 percent, or GHc800 million
READ ALSO: Stanchart records 20% increase in operating income for 2019
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Source: YEN.com.gh
