Bank Mergers: “You’ll meet God in heaven” – Adongo to Bawumia, Ofori-Atta
olgatanga Central MP, Isaac Adongo, has accused Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; Governor of the Central Bank Dr Ernest Addison and Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta of conspiring to destroy local banks, stating that they will meet “God in heaven”.
His comment comes in the wake of the merger of The Royal Bank, BEIGE Bank, Sovereign Bank, The Construction Bank and uniBank by BoG.
The resultant bank is called Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited. Dr Addison explained on Wednesday, 1 August 2018 that the move was part of measures to streamline the financial sector.
But Mr Adongo, who is also a member of parliament’s Finance Committee, told Valentina Ofori Afriyie on Class 91.3FM’s 505 news programme that: “At the beginning of the year, you [government] told the people of Ghana that indigenous Ghanaian banks are owed by government [to the tune of ] GHS 5.7billion. Pay that money to them and they will survive [but] you don’t pay it to them and you wait till they collapse then you give them GHS5.6billion just to collapse them. After having paid another GHS 4.6billion to UT and Capital Bank, you have already paid close to GHS 11.7billion, you haven’t saved any bank and you still owe the GHS 5.7billion that could have saved the bank”.
“Tell me any financial thinking person that will take a decision like that. You have collapsed banks with GHS11 billion, you are still owing the GHS 5.7billion that would have saved these banks. Ken Ofori-Atta and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, I don’t know where they learnt this type of finance, very basic and common sense [but] you take a decision to have a collaboration of regulatory agencies in order to bring down your competitors when you were in private life and you think that will help you? You will meet your God in heaven”.
Mr Adongo continued: “What has just happened is a culmination of regulatory collaboration between the Securities and Exchange Commission; and the Bank of Ghana, to bring major players of local content in the banking sector on their knees and that is exactly what has happened”.
“Only last two months, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a directive asking all funding management companies to wind down their investments in six months. At the time, BEIGE Bank had GHS2 billion of those funds. You now put a rush on these fund management companies on Beige Bank and GHS1.5 billon leaves BEIGE Bank in one month, then you go in and say they don’t have liquidity. Which bank will survive a flight of GHS 1.5 billion of liquidity and still be solvent?”
Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com
