The Bank of Ghana has revised the mergers and acquisitions directive, aimed at preventing the adverse impact on competition and stability of the financial system. The directive is Pursuant to Sections 54(4) and 92(1) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), and was done in consultation with the banking industry as well as the development partners,...
Data from the financial statements of about 60% of banks in the country for the first half of the year 2021, shows promising increases in profits for some and some slowdown in profit growth for others. This can be gleaned from the Summary Statements of Comprehensive Incomes of 13 of Ghana’s top banks covering January to June 2021, after a...
In December 2018, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) issued a Corporate Governance Directive, pursuant to its powers under sections 56 and 92(1) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016, Act 930. The Association of Finance Houses, in November 2020, brought an action at the apex court challenging the BoG’s authority to issue the directive, arguing that it ought to...
The banking sector recorded sustained growth and resilient performance during the first half of the year, with the available data showing robust growth in total assets, deposits, and investments, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has told parliament. Delivering the md-year budget review on Thursday, 29 July 2021, Mr Ofori-Atta said “total assets increased by 17.2 per cent year-on-year to GH¢162.9 billion ...
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has expressed concern about the continuous “sluggishness in new lending by banks,” stating that the development risked undermining the growth momentum currently enjoyed by the economy. In a statement issued on July 26 to announce the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the bank said the lag in credit disbursement in the first half...
Commissioner of Insurance, Dr. Justice Ofori has encouraged mobile money agents to consider getting insurance following the growing incidence of attacks in their line of work. The Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana has in recent times expressed concern over the incessant robbery attacks on agents, saying their line of business is currently one of the riskiest. In an interview with Citi...
The Ghanaian currency is just one pesewa away from hitting ¢6 to a dollar. According to the Bank of Ghana’s official trading platform, the dollar is now selling at ¢5.99, which is almost 1% appreciation to the cedi. However, the forex bureaux are selling the local currency at ¢6.01 plus. Some actually began selling a dollar for ¢6.00 about a month...
The Bank of Ghana has directed telecommunications companies, financial technology companies, mobile money operators, utility providers, among other organisations to provide information on the credit behaviour of borrowers to curb risk associated with lending. Other organisations required to also provide information about their clients to the Credit Reporting System (CRS) database include retailers; government institutions that offer credit to MSMEs;...
The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) continued its bullish performance in July with the year-to-date return of 39.95 per cent. The market indices closed the month of July trading session with an increase in the Ghana Stock Index (GSE-CI) by 73.63 points, CDH Securities Limited said in its July Stock Summary Analysis of the performance of the Accra bourse. CDH Securities Limited...
The GhIPSS 2021 half year performance report has shown that the GhQR and other new electronic services have started making gains. These electronic channels, including GhQR, ACH Direct Credit Near Real Time, GIP Debit pull, and Proxy Pay introduced by Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) cumulatively recorded 358,000 transactions in the first half of the year, representing 0.51...
