Members of the Coalition of Affected Savings and Loans Customers (CASLOC) have issued a January ending ultimatum to government to migrate accounts of members to existing universal banks.
This, according to the group will enable a quick payment of their locked-up funds.
CASLOC also expressed worry about the slow pace of payment of their locked up funds and the procedure used in the payments of these funds.
Citing the GHS 20,000 cap for customers whose deposits exceed that amount, the group said such a payment formula should be reviewed.
At a press conference in Kumasi on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, Secretary of the group Ezekiel Annor Akagbo, warned that members will advise themselves if government fails to address their concerns.
“We are still not happy at all about a number of issues pertaining to the payment procedure or formulae being used in the payment of our monies to us. Some of the payment issues we are very much displeased with include the slow pace in which the payments are being made, use of text messages for the payments and the GHS20,000 cap payment for customers whose deposits exceed that amount”, said Mr. Akagbo.
“If the President said he has directed the Minister of Finance to work with the bank of Ghana to ensure that we are treated like customers of the nine collapsed universal banks, then in order to believe what the President said we want the current payment procedure to be changed or revised in order to ensure immediate retrieval of our locked up funds”, he further noted.
No 100% assurance to depositors with axed Savings and Loans companies
The Bank of Ghana had said that it cannot provide full assurance to depositors whose monies have been locked up in 23 Savings and Loans companies.
“I cannot say that 100%”, Deputy Director of Banking Supervision at the Bank of Ghana (BoG),” Elliot Amoako responded on Accra-based Joy FM, to questions about the guarantees that depositors funds are safe.
He said a validation process is needed to determine deserving claims.
A third swing of the central bank’s axe chopped off 23 companies from Ghana’s financial sector after they were found to be insolvent.
Big names in the savings and loans sector, GN, Midland, Women’s World Banking, Ideal Finance were found to have breached provisions of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).
The clean-up within this sector follows the revocation of the licences of 386 insolvent microfinance and microcredit companies in May.
Before that nine local banks lost their licences between August 2017 and August 2018.
In all 418 financial institutions have lost their licences in the biggest bust within the financial sector since independence.
More people will be arrested, prosecuted — Nana Addo
President Akufo-Addo has assured the citizenry of the arrest and subsequent prosecution of persons directly responsible for the banking sector crisis which led to massive loss of jobs.
“We have begun bringing those responsible for the banking crisis to justice,” he stated while addressing the 71st Annual New Year School and Conference held at the University of Ghana, Legon campus.
His comment follows the arrest of the founder of the now-defunct UT Bank, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, who was dragged to court on Tuesday over the collapse of the bank.
While Prince Kofi Amoabeng was granted bail, the CEO for defunct Beige Bank, Mike Nyinaku, who was also in court was remanded into police custody for one week.
The action was lauded by Ghanaians who had long called for heads to roll over the crisis.
Apart from UT Bank, Beige Bank together with some four indigenous banks Unibank Ghana, Construction Bank, Sovereign Bank and Royal Bank were merged by Bank of Ghana to form the Consolidated Bank after their collapse.
Source: Jonathan Ofori, Daily Mail GH