BoG not taking over Ideal Finance, disregard false stories – Management

Ideal Finance has asked the public to disregard a publication online which indicated that the Bank of Ghana was about to take over the finance house due to liquidity challenges.

The publication by  www.mynewsgh.com, said the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, in an interview on Accra-based Peace FM, had suggested that the Central Bank was set to take over Ideal Finance by the end of the year due the financial institution’s growing inability to pay the funds of depositors.

In a statement however, the management of Ideal Finance rubbished the story, stating that the Finance Minister, at no point during the interview, intimated that the BoG would take over Ideal Finance.      

“Ken Ofori-Atta did not at any point during the interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi say the words attributed to him thus “…take over Ideal Finance over liquidity challenges.

“This publication is untrue and fraught with fictitious quotes which do not vaguely represent what the minister said in the aforementioned interview. The source website, www.mynewsgh.com retracted and removed the story from their website within 2 hours of publication due to the misrepresentations made in the story.”

The story has since been taken down from the site.
The statement assured the public that despite some panic withdrawals and a period of uncertainty in the aftermath of the collapse of seven banks in the space of a year, Ideal Finance remains in good standing with the BoG and has been able to meet its minimum requirements.

“We want to put it on record that Ideal Finance Limited is in good standing with the Bank of Ghana with a paid up capital of GHS 56.7 million, above the minimum capital requirement of GHS 15 million for finance houses with a capital adequacy ratio of 11.6%.

Following the collapse of the seven banks over the last one year, the entire finance sector has experienced a major shake up resulting in panic withdrawals, and indigenous finance houses have been the hardest hit; Ideal Finance has not been an exception”.

7 local banks collapse
In a 12 month period, the Bank of Ghana revoked the licenses of seven local banks in a bid to sanitize the financial sector.

The affected banks included  UT and Capital Bank ; both of which have been taken over by the state-owned GCB Bank.

A year later Beige Bank, Sovereign Bank, Construction Bank, uniBank, and Royal Bank were merged to form the Consolidated Bank , Ghana.

Protecting the depositors has so far cost the state GHc 9.9 billion , according to the Finance Minister, who presented the 2019 Budget statement and policy document.

The banks were closed down due to liquidity challenges and obtaining licenses under false pretenses, among other things.

Below is the full statement from Ideal Finance FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Our attention has been drawn to a false publication making rounds on certain blogs and on social media that claims the Bank of Ghana is set to take over Ideal Finance over liquidity challenges.

This publication is apparently sourced from an interview granted by the Hon. Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta on the Peace FM morning show 'Kokrokoo' with Kwami Sefa Kayi on Friday 16 th November, 2018.

The Hon Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta did not at any point during the interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi say the words attributed to him thus “…take over Ideal Finance over liquidity challenges”

This publication is untrue and fraught with fictitious quotes which do not vaguely represent what the minister said in the aforementioned interview. The source website, www.mynewsgh.com retracted and removed the story from their website within 2 hours of publication due to the misrepresentations made in the story.

We therefore call on our cherished customers and the general public to disregard this publication and its ensuing commentary. Below is a link to the Peace FM 'Kokrokoo' interview should you require further verification.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2033152840103134&id=792081140876983

We want to put it on record that Ideal Finance Limited is in good standing with the Bank of Ghana with a paid up capital of GHS 56.7 million, above the minimum capital requirement of GHS 15 million for finance houses with a capital adequacy ratio of 11.6%. Following the collapse of the seven banks over the last one year, the entire finance sector has experienced a major shake up resulting in panic withdrawals and indigenous finance houses have been the hardest hit; Ideal Finance has not been an exception.

Ideal Finance remains a leading finance house and is not in breach of any BOG regulations, we will like to use this opportunity to inform our cherished customers that, Ideal Finance is working around the clock with different institutions in Ghana and abroad to ensure that we remain the most stable finance house in Ghana.

Most importantly, our sincerest thanks goes to all our customers for your unrelenting trust in us, and for your continued business with Ideal Finance. We assure you of our unwavering commitment to serving you well and keeping your investments safe at all times.

Signed
Management, Ideal Finance Limited.
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By: Edwin Kwakofi|citinewsroom.com