The government says it is considering various structures through which it can provide financial support to help other indigenous banks meet the new minimum capital requirement of GH¢400 million by 31st December 2018.
The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Attah in a statement issued in Accra on Wednesday in reaction to Bank of Ghana’s announcement of collapsing five banks into one bank named Consolidated Bank said this support would be limited to indigenous banks that were solvent, well governed and managed and in full compliance with the Bank of Ghana’s regulatory requirements.
Additionally, the statement said the government would continue to explore policy interventions to transform the entire financial services sector into a more resilient and dynamic industry in order to promote and establish Ghana as a regional financial services centre.
“The Government of Ghana’s primary goals are: to protect customer deposits, protect jobs as much as possible; protect strong Ghanaian indigenous representation; protect the integrity of the banking sector; ensure strict adherence to good corporate governance and to minimise systemic risk,” the statement said.
Five banks Beige, Construction, Royal, Sovereign and Unibank were the affected banks.
The statement said the government was interested in ensuring that Ghana’s banking system was not only resilient and capable of driving the transformation agenda, but also supports the promotion and participation of strong indigenous Ghanaian banks.