Governor of Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, says the financial sector is healthier than ever after clean up

He was speaking at the University of Ghana’s annual New Year School. He said Ghana is emerging from the financial crisis stronger than ever.

The financial crisis resulted in the loss of millions of investments and thousands of jobs.

“The Bank of Ghana has every reason to feel confident about gains and achievements made so far in the financial sector. The sector is healthier, is better able to withstand financial shocks, compared to what we inherited at the beginning of 2017.”

“It is better capitalised, it is more liquid and profitable, it is more efficient and has adequate available assets,” Dr Addison added.

In August 2017, the financial sector clean-up started. This led to the collapse of nine universal banks, 347 microfinance companies, 39 microcredit companies or money lenders, 15 savings and loans companies, 8 finance house companies, and 2 non-bank financial institutions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also revoked the licenses of 53 Fund Management Companies.

It is estimated that the fiscal intervention of the state from 2017 to 2019 cost GHC16.4 billion.

The BoG said that after all the needed reforms, the industry will bounce back.

However, the growth rate in commercial banks’ deposits has however slowed down.

In a report by the BoG, it stated that deposits, as the main source of funding for the banking industry, grew by 17.1% in October 2019. This is slightly lower than the 20.7% increase in the previous year.