Reduce Bank Lending Rates to the Private Sector - President Akufo Addo to Banks
President Akufo Addo has challenged banks in Ghana to complement the
achievements of his government by reducing lending rates to the private
sector.
Delivering the special guest of honour address at the
official opening of the newly built Ecobank Ghana Head Office at the
forecourt of the building, President Akufo Addo said lending rates have
remained stubbornly high irrespective of the fact that our fiscal
deficit has reduced with inflation declining to 10.3 as at January 2018;
growing improvement in our micro economy, a fall in the 91 day treasury
bill rate from 16.4% in 2016 to 13.4% as at today.
"Banking
lending rates to the private sector has remained stubbornly high
averaging between 31.7% and 29.3% within the same period. The gap
between what is happening with the decline in inflation and the rates
being charged by banks is a gap we have to bridge, " President Akufo
Addo said.
The Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Daniel
Sackey in his welcome address indicated that Ecobank since 2012 has
become the biggest banking institution in Ghana. Going forward, the Bank
intends to embrace fully the digitization of banking to make sure that
the bank's customers are given the best of service.
Board
Chairman of Ecobank Ghana, Terence Darko, in a brief remark said
Ecobank will be relentless in its effort to support the development
agenda of Ghana. He added that the Bank will in the coming years
increase its social responsibility efforts as well.
Ecobank
Transnational Incorporated Group CEO, Ade Ayeyemi, observed that in
today's banking world, it is important to always come up with innovative
ideas that would meet the needs of customers. This, Mr. Ayeyemi says
is the motivation behind the construction of the new Ecobank head office
complex.
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Ernest Addison,
commended Ecobank for putting up such a huge edifice to serve as its
headquarters in Ghana. He also disclosed that the Bank of Ghana has
this morning issued new Corporate Governance Guidelines targeted at
banks and other special deposit taking institutions. It is his hope that
the new guidelines would go a long way to help streamline the
governance of financial institutions in the country and minimize bad
practices in the sector.
Ecobank Ghana
Ecobank Ghana
was established as a private limited liability company under the
companies’ code to engage in the business of banking. The Bank started
operation in February 19th, 1990, as a merchant bank and became the
first bank in Ghana to receive a universal banking license from the
Central Bank of Ghana when Universal Banking was introduced in 2003.
Ecobank Ghana is supervised and regulated by the Bank of Ghana (BOG), which is the Central Bank of Ghana. Ecobank Ghana currently has over 77 branches in Ghana and a head count of 1611 as at December, 2016.
Ecobank Ghana has grown consistently over the past years to become the
biggest bank in Ghana. At the end of the financial year, 2016, the bank
had an asset size of GHS8.05billion and Profit Before Tax of GHS 462.6
million. The bank has over the years, made good returns to its
shareholders with Return On alAverage Equity (ROAE) and Return On
Average Assets (ROAA) averaging above 35% and 4% respectively over the
past 5 years. As at end 2016, ROAE was 35.4% with ROAA of 4.4%.
Ecobank
Ghana has been the most profitable affiliate in the Ecobank Group and
has experienced steady growth over the past twenty six years.
Ecobank Ghana is increasingly focusing on eServices and eBanking to
provide convenience to its clients. It is committed to serving its
clients with speed, accuracy and the highest level of professionalism.
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