Bank of Ghana to offload its ADB shares

Dr Henry Kofi Wampah, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), has announced that it will soon offload its shares in the Agricultural Development Bank at the Ghana Stock Exchange for Ghanaians to purchase.

The Governor explained that as a Central Bank of the Nation, the BoG is not supposed to have shares in any bank, and therefore it will take steps to offload its 42 per cent shares in the Agricultural Development Bank.

Dr Wampah who made this disclosure during a press conference to present the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) Report in Accra said, BoG is made up of professionals who go about their work with decorum.

On the sales of the Merchant Bank, he explained that the Central Bank was not the owner of the Merchant Bank, and if its owners (Social Security and National Insurance Trust) decide to diversify it, they can only help the owners in the process.

He said the Central Bank did due diligence before giving its approval for the sale of Merchant Bank, and gave the assurance that it would continue to support the Merchant Bank in its operations.

The Governor bemoaned the situation where a newspaper used his image alongside a banner head line concerning the sale of Merchant Bank which seeks to depict a scandal. He said the Media could go about its work without seeking to dent his hard won reputation.

The Governor said based on their MPC's Report, the Bank had maintained its policy rate at 16.0 per cent, adding that the upside risks to inflation, though elevated, are mainly structural, and therefore may not need to be addressed by a policy rate adjustment at this time.