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The Bank of Ghana (BoG) is in discussions with the Ministry of Finance to initiate a clean-up of the Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs), the Governor, Dr Johnson Asiama, has said.
The clean-up, he noted, would cover micro finance institutions (MFIs) and rural banks.
As part of the clean-up, there is expected to be mergers, acquisitions to strengthen the sector.
Dr Asiama made this known during the 123rd Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference in Accra last Friday, emphasising the need to strengthen the SDI sector.
“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.
The BoG under the previous administration after the banking sector clean-up hinted of a clean-up of the SDI, but said the country did not have the financial capacity to carry out such exercise.
At last Friday’s MPC meeting, the MPC increased the policy rate (the rate central bank lends to the commercial banks) by 100 basis points from 27 per cent to 28 per cent to tame inflation.
Commenting on the broader banking industry, Dr Asiama noted that performance had improved significantly.
Total bank assets, the Governor stated grew by 34.0 per cent at the end of February 2025, compared to 12.1 per cent in the same period last year.
He said 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.
Addressing 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 stated.
The Governor added that the BoG would implement a framework to reduce risks and mitigate challenges affecting local banks.
Dr Asiama, Governor of Bank of Ghana, addressing the press conference
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
