BoG Governor Defends Revocation of UT, Capital Bank Licenses

Dec 26, 2024 - 01:22

Dec 26, 2024 - 01:26

BoG Governor Defends Revocation of UT, Capital Bank Licenses

Dr. Ernest Addison is Governor of Bank of Ghana.

Accra, Ghana - Dec 26, 2024 - Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, has opened up about the challenges he faced when he took office in 2017.

According to him, at the time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had recommended sweeping reforms to stabilize Ghana's financial sector, including the revocation of banking licenses for UT Bank and Capital Bank.

Speaking at the Governor's Day dinner, Dr. Addison revealed that the IMF's recommendations were non-negotiable, with the international organization insisting on strict adherence to its "prior actions" in order to disburse funds to Ghana.

This, he said, led to the Bank of Ghana taking decisive action to safeguard the financial sector, including the revocation of licenses and structural reforms aimed at restoring public confidence and financial stability.

“There are a few requirements which the IMF calls the prior actions, you have to do this, you have to do that otherwise they are not even going to organize a board meeting to discuss Ghana and disburse any funds to you,” he said.

“This was one of the prior actions—to dissolve UT and Capital Bank. Ghanaians had not witnessed such actions in a long time. Many were shocked when the licenses of the two banks were revoked,” he added.

The banking sector clean-up, which began in 2017, saw the licenses of seven banks revoked, including UT and Capital Bank, Beige Bank, uniBank, Sovereign Bank, Construction Bank, and Royal Bank. The central bank cited the managers of these banks for several breaches of regulation.

Source: Lead News Online