The Managing Director of the Bank of Africa Kobby Andah has given the clearest indication yet that the bank will meet the new capital requirement set by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
The Central bank last year raised the minimum capital requirement to GH¢400 million, equivalent to about US$100 million and commercial banks in the country have up to December 2018 to raise the amount, which represents a 333.3 per cent increase from the current minimum capital.
Banks were last recapitalized in 2012, when the BoG asked them to raise their stated capital from GH¢60 million at the time to the current GH¢120 million.
That round of recapitalization led to the consolidation of three banks, The Trust Bank (into Ecobank), Intercontinental Bank (into Access Bank) and Amalgamated Bank (into Bank of Africa).
Speaking Tuesday at a workshop in Accra under the theme: ‘Government Initiatives; Opportunities for SME Businesses’ Mr. Andah allayed the fears of the Bank’s customers that it is struggling to raise funds to meet the December 2018 GH¢400million recapitalization deadline.
“It is not possible. So please rest assured we are just going through the processes to get the internal approvals. Very soon before the end of the third quarter I am sure you will hear an announcement of the way forward for us,” he assured adding, “…what is certain is that we will still be in Ghana and we will still be Bank of Africa.”
Touching on the workshop, which is the second in the series of SME workshops aimed at creating the platform for SMEs to engage their various stakeholders, Mr. Andah said in developing economy like Ghana SMEs play crucial role “if Ghana is to have consistent growth.”
In line with the above, he observed the workshop’s theme was carved to address the focus of government towards SMEs, creating a platform to explore ways to strengthen Ghana’s SMEs sector.
Such interactions, he posited offer a knowledge sharing platform to educate both customers and prospects on issues relating to trade facilitation.
He also used the opportunity to express the Bank’s commitment to excellent customer satisfaction, noting that “we are poised in situating our brand as the Bank of choice and will continue to support our customers and facilitate their business growth.”
Representing the Business Development Minister, Ibrahim Awal Mohammed as the guest of honour, the Chief Director of the Ministry Joe Tackie said government is speedily working to reduce regulatory burden in doing business in Ghana.
“We are focused on improving the quality of entrepreneurship in this country and build a strong, resilient and robust business friendly country in Africa, innovative in whatever we do in terms of business,” he said.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
