Provisional results by the National Insurance Commission indicates that the total capital base for the insurance industry grew by 33.0 per cent to ¢3.88 billion in 2021, from ¢2.91 billion in 2020. This improved the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) in both the Non-Life and Life sectors of the insurance industry. In 2021, the industry average CAR improved to 456.0 per cent and...
Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB), John Awuah, has described as ‘impossible’ the assertion that banks in the country could be benefitting from the difference between respective lending rates by borrowing at the lower rate and on-lending to the market at the higher rate, citing mechanisms put in place by the central bank to forestall...
The Bank of Ghana has collaborated with the Ghana Police Service to arrest over 76 illegal foreign exchange dealers operating in the ‘Black Market’. The distress action, according to the Central Bank is part of measures to save the cedi from further depreciation. They are expected to face prosecution. The ‘Black Market’ dealers are said to be contributing to the rapid fall...
With a combined commitment of GH¢10billion, government has signed a contract for the YouStart Commercial Programme with the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) and 13 leading banks. The three-year commercial programme – with a commitment of GH¢10billion -guarantees that YouStart will serve as the main engine for producing one million jobs for the next three years. Through YouStart, government aims to...
As of the end of December 2021, total financial sector assets increased to ¢260.43 billion, about 59.1% of Gross Domestic Product. This was from ¢213.35 billion (55.6% of GDP) at the end of December 2020. According to the Financial Stability Review report, assets size growth was broad-based with the Securities Industry (excluding pension funds) recording the highest growth rate of 77.4%,...
Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) have been urged to embrace and leverage the opportunities associated with the new GhanaPay service to grow their fee incomes so as to consolidate growth and development. The GhanaPay is a mobile money service provided by universal banks, rural banks, and savings and loans companies to individuals and businesses. It is somewhat a mobile money...
United Bank for Africa Plc., Africa’s global bank, has announced the appointment of Oliver Alawuba as Group Managing Director, overseeing all the group’s banking operations across its twenty African country network and globally in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France, and the United Arab Emirates. Oliver Alawuba joined UBA in 1997, and has held a series of...
The cyber-crime unit of the Ghana Police Service is warning mobile money subscribers to be wary of fraudsters as electronic payment channels gradually become the new normal. Detective Daniel Ofori urged mobile phone users to be vigilant and report suspicious conversations to their network operators and the police for further action. “When you think the conversation doesn’t correspond to what you have, you can...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked all new investors and market operators to use the Ghana Card as the only identity card for all transactions in the Securities Market.. However, in the case of existing investors, the Ghana Card will be the sole identity card for all their transactions effective January 1, 2023.. SEC in a statement indicated that...
The boom in digital payment platforms and digital banking systems have come with its own risks and cost to the financial industry. Latest figures from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) indicaties that the global financial industry loses about US$67 billion to fraud related activities annually. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) also reports that about US$1.6...
