'About 70% of doctors deliberately take GH¢120,000, GH¢150,000 loans and flee Ghana without paying' – GAB President

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB), John Awuah, has raised concern over what he describes as a troubling trend among Ghanaian medical professionals who secure personal loans from local banks and then leave the country without repaying them.

Speaking on Joy News' PM Business Edition on Thursday, October 9, 2025, Mr. Awuah revealed that close to 70 percent of medical doctors who take personal loans from banks default after relocating abroad. He said the practice has become widespread and poses a serious threat to the banking sector.

“Do you know what doctors are doing to the banking system, particularly those who are offshoring their services, like migrating to other jurisdictions to work? They have bank accounts. They use your bank statements.

“They have, you know, personal loans. The bank will not ask you exactly what you are going to buy since it is a personal loan. They will come to a bank, take like, let's say, GH¢120,000 or GH¢150,000, take a visa, and jump off and leave the loan hanging.

“Wherever they are going, they are working there and earning, and one would think that as medical practitioners, they will just say, 'I have a liability in Ghana, which enabled me to demonstrate that I can fund my travel, so let me come and settle. About 70% of them are not paying,” he revealed.

Mr. Awuah described the situation as both disappointing and unethical, noting that such actions undermine trust and increase the cost of credit for other borrowers.

He disclosed that the Ghana Association of Banks is currently working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find a lasting solution through diplomatic channels.

“There are processes we are going through with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact the diplomatic corps, since you don't just wake up and write to them.

“We've already started. There's a letter that is logged at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is trying to achieve that, but that is a reactive mechanism,” he added.

The GAB CEO said the Association would continue to explore policy and legal options to ensure accountability and protect the financial system from such deliberate loan defaults.