Banks now stronger under NPP – Deputy Finance Minister

Abena Osei-Asare, a Deputy Minister of Finance, has said banks currently operating in Ghana are stringer following the cleanup exercise’

She said this during the unveiling of the New Patriotic Party’s 2020 elections manifesto on Saturday that the government saved the entire banking sector from collapse.

She pointed out that the deposits of over 14 million customers of banks were saved as a result of the shrewd decision taken by the government and the central bank to clean up the sector.

But for that decision, she said, the sector would have collapsed by now and further plunged the economy into severe difficulties.

The government spent GH¢29 billion to support the banking sector after the cleanup exercise and also pay customers of the failed banks.

In that exercise some nine local banks went under.

Critics of the government including Former President John Mahama said it was senseless for the government to have spent GH¢29 billion on paying depositors their locked up funds rather than investing that amount in the banks that collapsed.

But Madam Osei Asare said at the event on Saturday, August 22 indicated that “Our banking industry was on the verge of collapse, we have fixed it.

“We have saved 14 million Ghanaians from losing their investment. Some even with the aide of hindsight have suggested what they could describe as a common-sense approach that we should have given money to the banks to make their shareholders happy. Mr John Mahama, you did exactly that over and over again and what was the result?

“We were concerned with saving the whole industry rather than pleasing the same people who supervised the near-collapse of the industry.

“Today, the banking has sector has remained sound, solvent resilient despite the adverse impact of the coronavirus and this is due to the decision to clean up the sector.”