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Mr Parris making a presentation at the opening of the programme
Mr Parris making a presentation at the opening of the programme

GhIB boss advocates bank’s consolidation

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana International Bank (GhIB), Mr Joe Mensah, has added his voice to the call on banks in the country to consolidate to help them raise the minimum capital requirement by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

With the collapse of UT and Capital banks, Mr Mensah said there was the possibility that some banks could not meet the BOG threshold, “hence the need to merge to raise enough funds in order to reduce the pressure on them.”

He has also called for the increase in savings and loans companies to help reach the unbanked, especially in the rural areas.

In the wake of the demise of the two banks, some industry watchers have called for the reduction in the number of banks currently operating in the country since that was unhealthy for the financial sector.

Mr Mensah expressed fear about the development, noting that it could increase the number of the unbanked population in the country, “but it must be noted that the increase in the number of savings and loans companies across the country could mitigate the situation.”

Trade finance workshop

Mr Mensah was speaking to the media after the opening ceremony of a four-day trade finance course organised by the GhIB in Accra Tuesday.

Participants were drawn from banks and corporate institutions across the sub region and would be exposed to topics such as money laundering, terrorists financing, sanctions and monitoring.

The workshop will be facilitated by the Head of Trade Finance at the GhIB, Mr Mathew Parris, with the support of Mr Mensah and other experts in the industry.

Money laundering

The CEO indicated that the issue of money laundering was topical in the finance sector across the world.

For that reason, he said, financial institutions and corporate bodies were doing their best to bring the situation under control.

That, he said, was one of the reasons for the course, adding that it had come at an opportune time for players in the industry.

“Some of the big international banks have decided to de-risk from some local banks due to the issue of money laundering, but we don’t want to get involved in that so we’re taking the necessary steps to combat the issue,” he said.

Measures

As part of measures to check anti-money laundering, Mr Mensah emphasised that in all international trade transactions, the bank would ensure that the necessary rules and regulations were complied with.

“We do due diligence on both the buyers and sellers on all our transactions and operations with our customers so that we wouldn’t be at the wrong side of the law.

“In some situations, we have had to reject some of the transactions because some of the issuing banks had not done due diligence in their operations,” he stated

Commenting on the recent mudslide and flood in Sierra Leone, he said even though it might have an impact on the banks, he was hopeful that it could be mitigated.

Writer’s email: [email protected]

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