Accra, Feb. 20, GNA - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has given assurance to customers of failed financial institutions that government would ensure that they received 100 percent of their deposits.
He said starting from Monday, February 24, 2020, the Receiver of the Savings and Loans and Microfinance Institutions would start making pay-outs to customers of the defunct companies.
The President gave the assurance when he delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) to Parliament in Accra on Thursday.
The presentation of the SONA is in compliant with Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution and the Standing orders of Parliament that stipulates that the President delivers an address at the beginning of each session of Parliament on the state of the nation.
The Minority side of the House, moments before the President delivered his address, walked out of the legislative Chamber.
President Akufo-Addo told the one-sided House that his administration inherited a financial sector that was in distress and had had to come up with GH¢13 billion to pay the 4.6 million affected customers of the financial institutions that took a hit in the recent banking crisis.
He said though the development was unfortunate, the money used to remedy the situation could have provided many Ghanaian communities with the amenities they craved.
The Government has had to cough over 13 billion cedis to pay depositors of the failed banks.
“Properly utilised, thirteen billion Ghana cedis would work wonders with our perennial infrastructure deficit. But, we did think long and hard about paying all the customers of the failed banks, and we believe we made the right decision,” the President told the gathering that included the Vice president, the Chief Justice, former President Jerry John Rawlings, senior government officials, political party representatives, the diplomatic corps, security service chiefs, traditional rulers, the clergy and very important society people.
President Akufo-Addo was emphatic in stressing that the lessons from the crisis should guide Ghanaians against placing their bets on weak financial institutions that will milk them of their deposits through outrageous offerings.
“We hope that lessons have been learnt, and this will serve as a healthy caution to those who are offered unrealistic interest rates on deposits. I do not think it will be possible to repeat this grand pay-up in another lifetime,” he warned.
The President state that Government would ensure that those responsible for the failures of the financial institutions face the full rigours of the law.
“We expect that those whose job it is to supervise the banks and other financial institutions will do their jobs honestly and competently. I am very encouraged by the many corporate governance measures that have already been put in place by the Bank of Ghana, under the strong leadership of Governor Ernest Addison, to mitigate such bank failures in the future.
GNA
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS