Naa Alhassan Andani, a former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stanbic Bank, has appealed to stakeholders in the Muslim communities in the country to provide financial support for the establishment of an Islamic Bank to address the financial needs of all Muslims.
According to the former CEO, the call for the establishment of the bank has become necessary as a lot of Muslim entrepreneurs and individuals continue to undergo financial challenges which are hindering their standard of living.
Mr Andani made the appeal at a Ramadan Islamic Finance forum organised by the Islamic Finance Research Institute Ghana (IFRIG) in Accra. The forum, which brought together various scholars in the Muslim communities, was aimed at ensuring that participants gain knowledge about Islamic banking and the benefits that it will bring to the Muslim communities.
Highlighting some of the benefits that the establishment of the bank will bring to the country, Mr Andani noted that the Islamic bank will provide products based on Islamic principles to meet the financial needs of Muslims, stressing that “this will provide flexible financial services to the unemployed especially to become entrepreneurs”.
Naa Alhassan Andani disclosed that it would cost about GHC400 million to meet the financial obligations of the Central Bank before the establishment of the Islamic Bank. Such an amount, he stressed demand the collaboration of resources from wealthy Muslims to invest into the establishment of the bank to enable it become reality.
The Islamic Bank to Serve the Whole Country
The former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stanbic Bank stressed that the establishment of the Islamic bank was not meant to serve and meet the needs of Muslims communities only, but all faith-based organisations which include Christians.
The Director General of the Islamic Finance Research Institute Ghana, Mr Shaibu Ali, stated that there have been a progress towards the establishment of the Islamic Bank in the country, stressing that an application for license has been submitted to the Bank of Ghana.
Mr Shaibu Ali disclosed that some staff of the Central Bank have undergone training on Islamic banking as well as some Imams to afford them the opportunity to understand and appreciate the operations of Islamic banking.
The Director General of IFRIG seized the opportunity to educate the participants on IFRIG. He stated that IFRIG is a registered institution with the main aim of carrying out Islamic finance research, training, information, advisory, technical assistance and development of Islamic financial products and services within Ghana and beyond.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time the Islamic Bank issue is coming up for discussion as the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has also advocated for the bank’s establishment.
Nevertheless, there is no any full-fledged Islamic bank in the country. However, there are few financial institutions including Access Bank Ghana, Wenchi Rural Bank, Ghana Islamic Microfinance and Salam Capital that offer some form of Islamic banking services in the country.
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