SSL admits not meeting Industry requirements

Accra, Nov. 8 GNA - Sterling Securities Limited (SSL), a financial securities company on Tuesday confirmed that its Advisor's and Dealer's license has been suspended because it had failed to meet the minimum financial requirements as stipulated by law.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday announced the suspension effective November 4, 2005 and advised the Company not to undertake any transaction in connection with securities until the licenses were restored.

The SEC explained that under the SEC Regulation LI 1728; the Company was expected to deposit at least one billion cedis with it, "but it was unable to do so since it was issued with licenses last August. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, the SSL, however, said a new Consortium from London had taken-over the management of the company to restructure it and return to the financial market within the shortest time.

Mr Kofi Owusu, a representative of the consortium, told the GNA that even though the company would not be engaging in fresh securities, it would continue to pay the claims of existing investors as and when they were due.

He assured investors that the new consortium was doing everything possible to have the licenses back.

Meanwhile, a source close to the SEC said in addition to not fulfilling the one billion cedis deposit requirement, SSL also failed to settle a 5.5 billion-cedi minimum requirement deficit it owed over the years.

The source said the SSL was given three additional months' grace period to meet the minimum capital requirement but was unable to meet the obligation.