Madam Patient Yaboah Nkasah, the Deputy Head of the Other Financial Institution Provision Department and an Assistant Director at the Bank of Ghana has insisted that all non-bank institutions must do quarterly reports.

Madam Patient Yaboah Nkasah, thus, advised all non-bank financial institutions to adhere to the rules of providing their quarterly reports on their operations to the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

According to the Deputy Head of the Other Financial Institution Provision Department and an Assistant Director at the Bank of Ghana, the feedback that will be provided by the non-bank financial institutions will enable the Central Bank to report to the board, its development partners and the Ministry of Finance (MoH).

Madam Patient Yaboah Nkasah explained that the submission of the quarterly report will help the Central Bank to come out with policies to better serve the interest of the customers and the operators of the non-bank financial institutions.

Madam Patient Yaboah Nkasah further noted that non-bank financial institutions are not banks so they must operate in their remit and not set out to operate as banks. She meanwhile, appealed to operators to abide by the laws governing their operations because the BoG would deal with them if they fall foul of the law. She also appealed to the non-banks, for that matter, microfinance operators to do responsible lending.

Ghana Microfinance Institutions Network Forum

Madam Yeboah Nkansah issued this warning at the Microfinance Forum organised by Ghana Microfinance Institutions Network (GHAMFIN) on the theme: ‘Building Resilient and Sustainable Non-Bank Financial Institution’s Sector in the Wake of Current Economic Challenges’.

On his part, Mr Yaw Gyamfi, the Executive Director of GHAMFIN, noted that the submission of returns has been a challenge to operators. According to him, some operators have low capital so they shy away from submitting quarterly returns.

Mr Yaw Gyamfi warned that having low capital and failing to submit returns and paying a penalty of GHS12,000 is like using your capital to pay the penalty. It is on this score, he urged members to adhere to the submission of the returns to avoid infractions.

According to the Central Bank, a person shall not be licensed to provide a non-bank financial service unless that person (a) is a body incorporated in Ghana under sections 8 and 9 of the Companies Act 1963 (Act 179) with the sole authorised business of carrying on of a non-bank financial service; or (b) is in the case of a credit union registered and incorporated under sections 5 and 6 of the Co-operative Societies Act, 1968 (NLCD 252); and has satisfied the minimum capital requirements determined in accordance with section 12 of this Act.

BoG indicated that the financial exposure of the institution to a director, a significant shareholder and other related party shall not be written off or waived fully or partially, without the approval of the institution’s board and the approval in writing of the Bank.

Where a non-bank financial institution fails, refuses or neglects to comply with an order, direction, or agreement made under section 35, the Bank may (a) make a “cease and desist” order, of either temporary or indefinite duration requiring the non-bank financial institution and its management to stop the improper or unacceptable practices.