Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiama, has announced that the central bank is currently in discussions with the Ministry of Finance to initiate a clean-up of the Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs).
According to the governor, the cleanup would cover microfinance institutions (MFIs) and rural banks.
He indicated that through the exercises, they could be mergers or acquisitions to strengthen the sector.
He disclosed this at the 123rd Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference in Accra on Friday, March 28, 2025.
“Yes, there has to be a clean-up of that sector. We are engaging the Ministry of Finance, and discussions are ongoing. We will work on that,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the governor has also stated that the banking sector has seen some positive growth.
Total bank assets grew by 34.0 per cent at the end of February 2025, compared to 12.1 per cent in the same period last year.
According to him, the industry’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), with regulatory reliefs, increased to 14.4 per cent, up from 13.6 per cent last year, and without regulatory reliefs, CAR stood at 12.1 per cent.
“Overall, the Financial Soundness Indicators showed broad improvements in asset growth, solvency, liquidity, efficiency, and profitability,” he said.
Commenting on non-performing loans (NPLs), Dr Asiama acknowledged that high NPLs remained a challenge, attributing the issue to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.
“Going forward, especially for local banks, we need to strengthen risk management. This is something we plan to address aggressively,” he said.
Dr. Asiama assured the public that the BoG would implement a framework to reduce risks and mitigate challenges affecting local banks.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
