Meet required capital or lose licence -BoG warns

The Bank of Ghana (BOG) has warned savings and loans companies, and microfinance institutions to meet the required minimum capital or lose their licences.
Head of Banking and Supervision department of BoG, Mr. Franklin Belnye, who disclosed this at the launch of the electronic banking products by First National Bank, urged all financial institutions to properly align their risk appetite to their capital levels in order to guarantee the continuous existence of their institutions.

Mr. Belnye also disclosed that, the funds granted as loans in some financial institutions were funds belonging to other creditors which were repayable and that failure to repay such loans impaired the institutions capacity to honour its financial obligations.

He again cited high non–performing loans as one problem faced by the Central Bank.

According to him, as of June 2013, the ratio of non- performing loans was an average 14 per cent with some of them as high as 48 per cent.

Board member of First national, Mr. Charles Nimako, who launched the E- banking products also stated that, First National had indeed met the capital required of saving and loans companies and even met that required of the banks. He also promised that First National would continue to improve and be of good behaviour in the banking sector.

The E-banking products that were launched by the First National includes; SMS banking services, E-statement and internet banking. CEO of First National, Mr. Patrick Anumel, added that his bank developed these products in order to provide their customers with alternative delivery channels.

He said the customers did not have to come to the banking hall all the time in order to receive basic banking services.

By Emmanuel Bruce/Graphic Business/Ghana