Eric Nana Nipah, the Receiver for collapsed Microfinance companies, Savings and Loans and Finance Houses says affected customers will from today, Wednesday, September 16, 2020, have full access to their funds.
Government has released some GHS3.56billion to pay off the remaining validated claims by the receiver.
The payment follows government’s resolution of the original commercial paper, popularly known as bond.
According to the Receiver, payments which will commence on the said date “brings the processing and payment of valid depositor claims to closure”.
“It is the expectation that this additional cash of approx. GHS3.56billion will replace the Commercial Paper which has been issued by Government in favor of affected depositors of these companies in resolution”.
Affected customers have been directed to visit any branch of the Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited to receive their monies through the new funding arrangement.
“Notice is hereby given that with effect from Wednesday 16 September 2020, affected depositors may contact any branch of Consolidated Bank Ghana Ltd (“CBG”) the paying bank to access their newly created Cash accounts which were originally designated as Commercial Paper (Bond) accounts at the bank ie CBG.”
With a total amount of approximately “GHS6.07billion paid to some depositors of these resolved companies, leaving an amount of approx. GHS402million to be paid to the remaining depositors, to fully settle all valid depositor claims in the resolution process”, Mr. Nipah clarified that, validated claims includes those from late submissions.
Eric Nana Nipah further stressed that customers who have either received or are due commercial paper in partial satisfaction of their claims will receive cash payments at no discount for the bond they have already received.
“Please note that depositors who have already discounted all or part of their Commercial Paper will receive a full refund in cash of the discount they suffered”.
Eric Nana Nipah noted that concern for most of the affected depositors is with the features of the Commercial Paper used to partially settle the indebtedness of these resolved companies to those depositors.
The statement from the Receiver reiterated that “in order to provide additional liquidity to the financial sector, Government has made available to the Receiver/Official Liquidator additional cash amounting to approx.GHS3.56billion, equivalent to the total value of the Bond component of funding required to fully satisfy the indebtedness of the resolved entities to their body depositors.“
“As a result of this new funding arrangement provided by Government, all valid depositor claims in the resolution exercise worth GHS6.49billion in value are being fully settled in CASH.”
On May 31, 2019, 347 microfinance companies had their license revoked by the Bank of Ghana as part of the financial sector cleanup.
The Bank of Ghana, in August 2019, also revoked the licences of 23 insolvent Savings and Loans companies and Finance Houses.
It will be recalled that in April 2020, the Receiver issued a government-backed non- interest-bearing financial instrument to the defunct institutions whose validated and agreed claims in the resolution exercises had not been fully extinguished by the application of the cash component of government’s funding provided for that purpose.
