Minority Petitions BoG, Requests Details on UT, Capital Banks’ Takeover

The Minority side in Parliament has written to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and the Finance Minister requesting for information on some technical details relating to Capital and UT Banks’ takeover by GCB bank.

GCB bank took over the two banks in 2017 with the permission of the BoG because they were unable to increase the capital requirements needed for their operations.

The Minority in its letter made three demands including being furnished with the purchase and assumption transaction document to update themselves on the issues that warranted the takeover.

Speaking to Citi News’ Parliamentary correspondent, Duke Mensah Opoku on Wednesday, the Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, said the group is only seeking further clarity on the transaction.

“We are asking for clarity in the provision of certain information that we deemed outstanding, relating to the two banks that were liquidated of which the central bank signed and purchased an assumption transaction with GCB. As we speak, the public does not know anything about it. We have read from an IMF document that says that the government of Ghana represented by the Ministry of Finance is going to arrange some bond issuance, about one percent of GDP which is about 1.6 to 2 billion cedis to defray the cost relating to the collapse of the two banks.”

“The argument is that who is going to pay? Is it going to be a public debt? The bond is going to be serviced through the consolidated fund and I know that as we speak, plans are far advanced, they’ve completed the discussion on the debt and it has come to about GHc2 billion.”

Ato Forson complained that as representatives of the people of Ghana, “we don’t seem to have any information about it, and it is important that, at the minimum, that ought to have come to Parliament for approval and the people’s representatives get copies of the purchase and the assumption transaction that the central bank signed with the GCB bank.”

The other two technical issues the Minority members are demanding clarity on include the cutoff rules as enshrined in the public financial management act, and the financial administration regulation as well as clarity on a supposed 7 billion outstanding arrears which they said had been adjusted.

Unibank moves to control majority interest in adb

This comes on the back of a purported control of the Agricultural Development Bank (adb) by Unibank.

Belstar Capital, Starmount Development company, EDC as well as SIC Financial Services Limited, have all allegedly pledged their shares, proceeds, entitlement and voting rights to Unibank hence giving Unibank power over adb.

CEO of Unibank, Dr. Kwabena Duffour Jr. confirmed on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday that per the deal “we have the power and control to change it from adb. Down the line we might decide to do a proper transfer where we will need the approval of the various regulatory bodies but for now we have the power and control over it.”

Meanwhile, adb has however been suspended by the Ghana Stock Exchange, and the Bank of Ghana has also described the supposed deal as “null and void.”

Source: Citifmonline