Turbulent times ahead for banks - PwC warns

The already turbulent waters rocking the banking industry has no immediate end in sight for the medium term, considering the future performance of the domestic macro-economy of the country, a PwC 2014 Ghana Banking Survey has found.

Banking executives, according to the survey, who in their majority projected this gloomy outlook for the industry, were of the view that the cost of operation will peak significant against revenue as a result of high inflation.

About 80% of banking executives held the belief that “the future performances of both the fiscal and monetary sectors will lead to a significant increase in the cost of operations, but not as much growth in revenue and balance sheet size”, the survey concluded.

This disconsolate expectation for the banking sector stems from projections that the Ghana cedi will continue to weaken against the dollar which is on a strong trajectory of growth, facilitating cost push inflation from imported commodities.

Should the economic conditions of the country continue to remain gloomy, bank executives are convinced that avenues for growth within the sector are likely to be curtailed.

Despite this outlook, the survey concluded that banks are more prepared for opportunities while tackling the expected challenges.

The bank executives interviewed during the survey mentioned the need for broader and longer consultations on market interventions relating to the monetary sector, good business and operational models for stimulating interest and exchange rates as well as the need for reliable statistical data for market forecasting.