DDEP Affected Profitability Of Banks In 2022 But First Half Of 2023 Looks Promising – BoG

Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Dr Ernest Addison says that evidently, the Ghanaian economy is currently undergoing some adjustments.

This, he said, calls for innovation and creativity in business conduct, especially in the banking sector.

He stated that the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) affected the profitability and solvency of banks in 2022, but performance of banks during the first half of 2023 looks promising.

“The Bank of Ghana has also granted some temporary regulatory reliefs to dampen the impact of the debt restructuring and these, together with the expected operationalization of the Ghana Financial Stability Fund, should provide adequate support to the banking sector.

“Furthermore, banks whose CAR levels have dropped below the 10 percent minimum due to the DDEP have been advised to provide recapitalisation plans for review,” he said in a statement presented on his behalf by the First Deputy Governor of the central bank Dr Maxwel Opoku-Afari during the launch of the GCB Bank’s 70th anniversary in Accra on Thursday.

Dr Opoku Afari further stated that in the drive towards innovation, GCB Bank launched Ghana’s first bank-led mobile money service, that is, G-Money, which currently serves more than 2.7 million customers with services such as money transfer, bill payments.

All these strides have earned the Bank recognition, including being adjudged the top financial services firm at the 2022 Ghana Club 100 Awards, he noted.

“The Bank ranked first in the banking sector and tenth in the list of 100 topmost prestigious companies in Ghana. Although GCB Bank placed 10th in the overall 100 best companies operating in Ghana at the 2022 Ghana Club 100 Awards, it was the only bank and financial institution among the first10 best companies in Ghana. We applaud the entire Management Team and Staff of GCB Bank for the hard work in attaining this feat.

“GCB Bank has remained a key facilitator of Ghana’s international trade with dealings in letters of credit, financing medium-term loans, forward contracts, export credit guarantee lines, among others. In 2022, for instance, the bank tripled its net trading income to GHȼ487.2 million, from GHȼ157.5 million in 2021. In March 2023, GCB Bank successfully completed the first Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) client transaction in Ghana, which involved a Ghanaian incorporated entity initiating a supplier payment from GCB in Ghana Cedis to a beneficiary in Nigeria who received the payment in Naira instantly. This innovation cements GCB’s critical role in promoting trade with other Africa countries under the AfCFTA. GCB remains committed to providing innovative and efficient banking solutions to its customers such as the e-wallet, e-payments, and cashless banking to the market,” he said.

3NEWS