Mahama’s promise may have contributed to our payment – Microfinance institutions

The Executive Director of the Ghana Microfinance Institutions Network (GHAMFIN), Yaw Gyamfi says the promise by former President John Dramani Mahama to pay customers of collapsed financial institutions may have contributed to government’s decision to pay them.

“It could be that the government is responding to our letters and the many calls, and it could also be because of what our former President said and the time at which he said it. But it could be a mixture of all these things,” he told Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Wedesday.

Government has released an amount of GH¢3.5 billion to pay depositors of banks and microfinance which were collapsed beginning today Wednesday September 16,2020.

“Notice is hereby given that with effect from Wednesday 16 September 2020, affected depositors may contact any branch of Consolidated Bank Ghana Ltd (“CBG”) the paying bank to access their newly created Cash accounts which were originally designated as Commercial Paper (Bond) accounts at the bank,” a statement from the Receiver said Tuesday.

It added: “The implication of the above is that depositors who have either received or are due Commercial Paper in partial satisfaction of their claims will now receive CASH payments at no discount for the Commercial Paper they have either received or is due to them. Please note that depositors who have already discounted all or part of their Commercial Paper will receive a full refund in cash of the discount they suffered”.

Until this week, the government had maintained it did not have funds to settle the debts resorting to the use of bonds to offset them within five years.

Below is a statement on the payment which begins today;

IN THE MATTER OF THE BANKS AND SPECIALISED DEPOSIT-TAKING INSTITUTIONS ACT,2016(ACT 930)

AND

IN THE MATTER OF THE RECEIVERSHIPS OF 347 MICROFINANCE COMPANIES AND THE 23 SAVINGS AND LOANS AND FINANCE HOUSE COMPANIES

AND

NOTICE OF CONVERSION OF GOVERNMENT BACKED NON INTEREST BEARING COMMERCIAL PAPER (“BONDS”) INTO CASH AT NO DISCOUNT IN RESPECT OF PAYMENTS TO AFFECTED DEPOSITORS OF RESOLVED MICROFINANCE, AND SAVINGS AND LOANS AND FINANCE HOUSE COMPANIES WHOSE CLAIMS HAVE BEEN VALIDATED IN THE RESOLUTION PROCESS

In line with Government’s commitment to protect depositors funds and to shore up public confidence in the financial system, Government made available to the Receiver of the above resolved companies, as well as the Official Liquidator of the Micro Credit Companies in official liquidation, a combination of cash and Commercial Paper totalling approximately GH¢6.49billion to fully settle the valid depositor claims on these institutions.

As the Receiver/Official Liquidator brings the processing and payment of valid depositor claims to closure, a total amount of approx GH¢6.07billion has been paid to some depositors of these resolved companies, leaving an amount of approx. GH¢402million to be paid to the remaining depositors, to fully settle all valid depositor claims in the resolution process.

It should be noted that these claims include validated claims previously assessed by the Receiver/Official Liquidator as Late Submission claims owing to the fact that they were submitted after the extended deadline for the submission of depositor claims in the resolution process.

Of the total amount of approximately GHS6.49billion required to fully settle all valid depositor claims in the resolution process, about GH¢3.56billion of these claims in value representing approx 55% of total claims payable are being settled with Government of Ghana backed Non-Interest bearing Commercial Paper (“Bond”), with the remaining approx. 45% in value of claims payable, worth approx. GH¢2.93billion being settled with Cash.

The Depositor Payment Scheme set up by the Receiver/Official Liquidator to administer and fully settle all valid depositor claims in the resolution process has largely been successful; however, an area of concern for most of the affected depositors is with the features of the Commercial Paper used to partially settle the indebtedness of these resolved companies to those depositors whose claims were not fully extinguished by the payment of cash to them.

These depositors have indicated that the features of the Bond, being non-interest bearing and with a tenor of five years do not make the Bond commercially attractive, thus creating a significant loss in value of their claims to them.

Sensitive to these concerns and in order to provide additional liquidity to the financial sector, Government has made available to the Receiver/Official Liquidator additional cash amounting to approx.GHS3.56billion, equivalent to the total value of the Bond component of funding required to fully satisfy the indebtedness of the resolved entities to their body depositors.

It is the expectation that this additional cash of approx. GHS3.56billion will replace the Commercial Paper which has been issued by Government in favour of affected depositors of these companies in resolution.

The implication of the above is that depositors who have either received or are due Commercial Paper in partial satisfaction of their claims will now receive CASH payments at no discount for the Commercial Paper they have either received or is due to them.

Please note that depositors who have already discounted all or part of their Commercial Paper will receive a full refund in cash of the discount they suffered.

As a result of this new funding arrangement provided by Government, all valid depositor claims in the resolution exercise worth GHS6.49billion in value are being fully settled in CASH.

Notice is hereby given that with effect from Wednesday 16 September 2020, affected depositors may contact any branch of Consolidated Bank Ghana Ltd (“CBG”) the paying bank to access their newly created Cash accounts which were originally designated as Commercial Paper (Bond) accounts at the bank ie CBG.