New Development Bank will be a non-deposit-taking wholesale bank - Finance Ministry
- The Ministry of Finance and the European Investment Bank have signed an agreement for the provision of a €170 million loan facility
- This €170 million loan facility will be used to establish a new bank, the Development Bank Ghana (DBG)
- Akufo-Addo noted that the new bank is going to play a very important part in the rapid transformation of Ghana's economy
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Director of the Financial Sector Division at the Ministry of Finance, Sampson Akligoh, has disclosed that several competent measures have been put in place to ensure the success and independence of the yet-to-be formed Development Bank Ghana (DBG).
Mr. Akligoh said the government has learned its lessons from the failures of previous development banks.
According to him, the government will therefore strive to ensure the new one becomes credible and is free from political interference and manipulation.
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He added that a lot of consultations have been held with the World Bank and stakeholders to ensure that the new wholesale Bank which will start operations in July 2021 stays true to its core mandate.
“We have actually taken our time to make sure that as humanly as possible the government checks the processes leading to the formation of this bank so that we have a credible institution that is independent and has the adequate human resources that can do things differently from the past," Mr Akligoh made the comments during the first-ever public forum on the Development Bank on Thursday, June 17.
He assured that the new Development Bank will be a non-deposit-taking wholesale bank and that the bank will neither give retail nor direct business loans but rather focus on Agribusiness, with a focus on off-farm value-chain activities and support ICT, software, and allied services, including Business-Process Outsourcing, and Tourism.
Gov't secures €170m loan facility to establish Development Bank Ghana
The Ministry of Finance in partnership with the European Investment Bank signed an agreement for the provision of a €170 million loan facility for the establishment of a new national bank.
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The new bank, the Development Bank Ghana (DBG), is an integral feature of the GH¢100 billion Ghana Cares ‘Obaatampa’ Project.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, signed on behalf of Ghana, with Dr. Werner Hoyer, President of EIB, signing on behalf of the Bank.
This event took place during a meeting held with the President of the European Investment Bank, Dr. Werner Hoyer, as part of Akufo-Addo's official visit to Belgium.
The €170 million loan facility, according to Dr. Hoyer, is the largest facility provided by the European Investment Bank for the establishment of a development bank in Africa or for any other project, for that matter, on the continent.
Establishing the national development bank laudable
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Sleek Garments Export Limited, Nora Bannerman-Abbot, who was a panelist on the forum has lauded the government’s decision to establish the National Development Bank.
According to her, the bank will boost the capacity of small, medium and even large businesses in Ghana and help them acquire long-term financing to help them expand their infrastructure.
“AGI is very excited. We are happy that the government is looking at the establishment of this Development Bank of Ghana,” the accomplished entrepreneur said.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
