The Committee for Cooperation between Law Enforcement Agencies and the Banking Community (COCLAB) has been urged to intensify multi-stakeholder collaboration and develop pragmatic solutions to curb the proliferation of unlicensed financial institutions operating in the country.
The Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Mrs. Matilda Asante-Asiedu, made the call during the COCLAB Technical Committee workshop held in Accra on Thursday on the theme: “Promoting financial integrity through multi-stakeholder collaboration.”
The workshop, organised by the Financial Stability Department of the Bank of Ghana, brought together members of security agencies, judges, and other key stakeholders.
Mrs. Asante-Asiedu stressed the need for COCLAB to establish structured, multi-agency working groups to analyse the modus operandi of unlicensed financial entities and recommend joint enforcement and preventive measures.
According to her, fragmented regulatory responsibilities had created gaps which criminal operators were exploiting.
“This is a clear case where collaboration must move beyond dialogue to execution,” she said, adding that “no single institution is responsible for the entire value chain, and when enforcement is fragmented, bad actors take advantage.”
She noted that Ghana’s macroeconomic outlook remained positive, with easing inflation, improved GDP growth, and strong consumer confidence.
“Inflation is currently at 6.3 per cent. Who would have imagined that just a year ago?” she remarked, stressing, however, that periods of economic recovery often attracted unscrupulous actors.
Mrs. Asante-Asiedu disclosed that in 2024 alone, the BoG received over 50 complaints relating to unregulated savings, investment, and lending schemes, many of which mimicked legitimate financial products while imposing exorbitant charges and abusive recovery practices.
“Unlicensed and criminal operators are exploiting vulnerable borrowers with products that appear attractive but conceal punitive terms and data privacy violations,” she said, warning that such practices eroded public confidence in the financial system.
She further called on stakeholders, including the media and telecommunications operators, to play their part in safeguarding the financial ecosystem.
“Advertising revenue is good, but media houses also owe a responsibility to their audience to verify whether entities seeking publicity are licensed,” she emphasised.
In his welcome address, the Head of the Financial Stability Department of the BoG, Dr. Kwasi Osei-Yeboah, described unlicensed operators as “cloned financial institutions” that deliberately present themselves as regulated entities to deceive the public.
“They pose significant risks to the integrity of the financial system, and it is incumbent on all of us to recalibrate our strategies to keep ahead of the curve,” he said, urging participants to propose practical solutions during the brainstorming sessions.
A Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mrs. Efia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, who chaired the programme, underscored the importance of collective action.
She described COCLAB as a vital network of professionals working to strengthen Ghana’s financial space and urged participants to be “vibrant and committed” throughout the deliberations.
The workshop is expected to produce actionable strategies to strengthen inter-agency cooperation, enhance enforcement, and protect consumers from the growing threat of unlicensed financial institutions.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
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The post Deepen multi-agency collaboration to curb unlicensed financial institutions — Second Deputy Governor urges COCLAB appeared first on Ghanaian Times.
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