Stop paying dividends to customers – BoG orders banks, SDIs

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has directed banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) in the country to cease declaring or paying dividends to shareholders until further notice.

This is aimed at absorbing any potential operational losses for banks and SDIs from the global pandemic.

In a statement signed by the BoG’s secretary, Sandra Thompson and copied to GhanaWeb states that “In furtherance of the above, and to ensure that banks and SDIs are better able to support their customers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, to absorb any potential operational losses for banks and SDIs from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bank of Ghana now directs that all banks and SDIs desist from declaring and/or paying any dividends or distributing reserves to shareholders, and from making any irrevocable commitments regarding the declaration or payment of dividends to shareholders, until further notice."

Meanwhile, the Central Bank has assured banks and SDIs that it would continue to monitor the impact of the coronavirus on the financial sector.

Please read below BoG's statement