Bank of Ghana – 15 banks set to meet GH¢400m minimum capital

• Posted on July 23, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

Fifteen banks are to meet the new minimum capital requirement by December this year.

This is the information available to Citi Business News from the Bank of Ghana.

This means that at least nineteen (19) banks will have to resort to various options available to them to meet the minimum capital by the set deadline.

The Governor of the central bank, Dr. Ernest Addison who made the disclosure, also explained that already six banks have met the new requirement with nine others in the process of hitting the mark.

Of this, four of the banks are on the way to meeting the requirement while the remaining five are likely to meet the capital requirement.

BoG increases minimum capital from 120 to 400 million cedis

All commercial banks have until December 2018 to increase their minimum operating capital to 400 million cedis.

Failure to do so could result in a bank losing the license or have its status reduced.

Dr. Addison was speaking at the pressing engagement after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Monday [July 23, 2018].

Indigenous banks seek an extension

Indigenous banks have appealed for an extension of the deadline for meeting the minimum capital requirement.

They have petitioned the President over the matter seeking that the date is extended to 2022.

A committee established by the President to look into the concerns raised by the local banks is yet to publish its findings.

Mergers in the offing?

Meanwhile, three banks; Premium bank, GN Bank, and Sahel Sahara bank have announced plans to merge to meet the minimum capital requirement of 400 million cedis.

Energy Commercial bank has also stated that it is going to the stock market to raise additional capital to increase its capital levels.