Gov’t to Set Up Domestic Rating Agency
The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, has disclosed that government will set up a domestic rating agency to rate banks and insurance companies next year.
According to him, this will help stabilize the banking system in the country.
This was disclosed at the 21st National Banking Conference organized by the Chattered Institute of Bankers on Tuesday in Accra, when he was outlining some policies to be implemented by the Ministry next year.
He also hinted that data collection in the country would be improved and made available through a financial sector data hub.
“We need to improve transparency and data availability which is essential for both consumer protection, development of an efficient financial market, and better pricing of debt and equity”, he stressed.
According to him, governments expects the banking system to leverage the Fintech explosion to remain sustainable.
He said “for banks to remain robust and sustainable they must seize the opportunity to invest and partner with Fintechs that offer banks immediate agility, flexibility in providing services and speed to the market.”
Ken Ofori Atta mentioned that the banking industry experienced a growth in its assets this year. “The total banking assets for the first 10 months in 2017 reached Gh¢88.9 billion as compared to Gh¢73.8 billion for the same period last year. Total assets grew by 32.9% as at July this year compared to an annual growth rate of 24.6% in July in 2016.”
Relating to the statistics, he said the Ministry has already taken a number of steps to maintain strong banks and safeguard the banking system.
Touching on the Gh¢400 million capital requirements set for banks, he said the banking system will be well positioned to become more productive and have greater capital and liquidity buffers, after the banking system has undergone the radical restructuring of meeting the requirement.
He further stated that the higher capital does not only deliver a stable and robust system, but also provides a platform for growth.
Source: Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum/ thePublisher
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