A ranking member of the Finance Committee in Parliament Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei says he fears an imminent redundancy within the banking sector if the financial sector is not strengthened within the shortest possible time.
With the Ghanaian banking sector experiencing shrinking revenue owing to increasing rates of loan-defaults, banks operating in the country are preparing to layoff considerable amounts of workers.
“The banks are suffering and I’m not saying what they are doing [charging high interest rate] is right but majority of our banks in Ghana if we are not careful may collapse,” he said
It is believed that about 150 workers will be affected by redundancy within the banking sector. Meanwhile, some workers have indicated their readiness to accept the retrenchment offer since the package is expected to be good.
Already, some banks have laid off some workers, mainly contract staff in order to lessen the effect of the economic hardship on their businesses.
Speaking on 3fm’s Sunrise Morning Show, Tuesday, Dr. Akoto Osei charged the financial sector to put in the necessary efforts to stabilize the economy to enable business to grow and also provide income for individuals.
“The non-performing is high and depositors are not putting money there, so they are suffering that is why they are putting their money in treasury bills.
“The financial sector itself is very weak so don’t be surprised if very soon you see a lot of banks laying off people.
“It was put in the papers not too long ago and I know some banks have already done so and I don’t want to mention their names.
“The Bank of Ghana commissioned some independent auditors to look at the books of all Banks in Ghana and the story was not good.
“Their books are bad and a lot of it is NPL’s because businesses are not earning enough and nobody will buy them even if their assets end up being confiscated.”
Story by Nana Afrane Asante | 3news.com
