Dr. Paul Acquah, Governor of the Bank of Ghana says the coming into fruition of the Credit Reporting, Anti-Money Laundering and the Borrowers and Lenders laws will reduce interest rate spreads and cost of credit.



According to him, these sets of legislations and regulatory arrangements which effectively provide the basis for better informed assessment and pricing of risks would promote the transfer and sharing of risks, in an essential way for the growth of a sound financial services industry.

Presently, the Credit Reporting has become law with the Anti-Money Laundering Act awaiting the President’s assenting while the Borrowers and Lenders Bill awaits parliamentary consideration.

In recent times, President John Agyekum Kufuor has been deeply concerned about the high interest rates charged by banks, re-stating it on Tuesday when he launched BSIC Ghana Limited, a Sahelo-Saharienne Bank for Investment and Commerce.

Dr. Acquah emphasized that the broadening scope of intermediation and access to credit stands to be strengthened in its dynamics and integrity by the Credit Reporting Act, the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and the Borrowers and Lenders Bill when passed into law.

Ever since the banking sector underwent rapid transformation, there had been significant increases in banks’ deposits, total assets, and credit portfolio of the industry in relation to gross domestic product (GDP), along with a broadening of the range of services and products that the financial institutions offer to customers.

Dr. Acquah also pointed out that the biometric or ezwich smartcard will place access to financial services within the reach of both the unbanked and the underbanked segments of society, and it will change the way of doing business.

Meanwhile, the bank has issued a provisional license to a firm to establish a Credit Bureau, giving effect to the Credit Reporting Act.

Though the Central Bank did not disclose the name of the company, CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE sources say SDS Data is the company that had been given the nod.

The operation of the Credit Reference Bureau comes as a huge relief to players in the financial sector who were hoping to see the operation of the Bureau to help them give better information on the levels of indebtedness of borrowers before granting any loans. source: D Guide