The Bank of Ghana (BoG) says it will soon announce a new deadline for savings and loans companies to meet the new capital requirement of GH¢15 million.
Last year, the Central Bank reviewed the minimum capital required for savings and loans companies to operate in the country to GH¢15 million from GH¢7 million.
It has, therefore, urged all savings and loans companies to put in place measures to meet the revised capital requirement before the new deadline is announced.
The Governor of BoG, Dr Henry Kofi Wampah, said this in a speech read on his behalf at the official launch of ABii National Savings and Loans Company in Accra last week.
Dr Wampah also commended ABii National for achieving a customer deposit of GH¢17.5 million just within one year of operation.
He stated that ABii’s rapid expansion within this short period attested to its quest to bring financial services to the doorstep of the unbanked.
He, however, cautioned the company to be mindful of the operational risks that underpin rapid expansion and design appropriate safeguards to protect the institution in its attempt to further expand its footprints across the country.
“It is important to be aware that credit risk is the most significant risk that financial institutions in our part of the world face in the normal course of business. I, therefore, urge you to maintain high standards in credit administration and delivery in order to ensure that the shareholder’s capital is not dissipated in loan and other operational losses,” he added.
According to the Managing Director for ABii National, Mr Godfred Osei-Boakye, the company currently boasts a strong balance sheet of GH¢28 million, with a current stated capital of GH¢10 million.
He said plans were far advanced to increase the stated capital to GH¢15 million before BoG announces the implementation date for all existing savings and loans companies to meet the new capital requirement.
“After two months of operations and with one branch, ABii managed to close the year 2013 with a deposit of GH¢3.9 million and a loan portfolio of GH¢308, 000. Through hard work, our current deposit position is GH¢17.8 million while loans and advances is GH¢10 million, with non-performing loans ratio of 1%,” he said.
Mr Osei-Boakye also pointed out the company had the vision to be the most desired indigenous bank that would partner its customers to unlock their financial potential.
He said ABii’s products and services are tailored to suit its chosen market, which includes micro businesses, salary workers and all range of individual depositors.
“In order to make our mark in this competitive industry, we intend to bring on board valued added services to delight our customers. We are working with one of our partner banks to roll out VISA prepaid reloadable cards that will enable our customers to load cash in cedi and spend in dollars anywhere in the world,” he noted.
He said the company was committed to exploring and innovating better ways to serve the needs of its customers within the ambit of the rules and regulations of the central bank.
