Convener of the OneGhana Movement and finance policy analyst, Senyo Hosi, has said the Bank of Ghana failed in its supervisory responsibility in the case involving GN Bank, despite
The report indicates that convener of the OneGhana Movement and finance policy analyst, Senyo Hosi, has criticised the Bank of Ghana (BoG) over its handling of the GN Bank crisis, arguing that the central bank failed in its supervisory responsibilities despite clear signs of financial distress within the institution.
It further notes that speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, May 23, Mr Hosi stated that although the financial sector crisis was real and required urgent intervention, the Bank of Ghana should have acted earlier to prevent the situation from deteriorating.
His comments come amid renewed public debate over the revocation of GN Bank’s licence and the legality of measures taken during the banking sector clean-up exercise.
“We were in dire times, and something had to be done. We may not even have had a country. It would have been total chaos if your financial system went down. It was a major national security risk,” he said.
According to Mr Hosi, depositors across several financial institutions struggled to access their funds during the period leading up to the clean-up exercise.
“People could not get their money. People were going to some of these institutions, and they could not withdraw their cash,” he stated.
“People had made investments and could not withdraw them. That was chaos.”
He stated the financial difficulties within GN Bank were publicly known and could not be dismissed as isolated allegations.
“Nobody in all honesty can say it was not public information that people were having problems withdrawing cash from GN Bank,” he said.
“They closed down about 70 branches at a certain point in time. People were genuinely struggling.”
While acknowledging the legal debates surrounding the revocation of banking licences, Mr Hosi maintained that the underlying financial challenges were evident and required regulatory intervention.
“The legal issue is one for the lawyers to discuss,” he noted, adding that the Bank of Ghana nevertheless had “a clear responsibility to act independently to ensure the stability of our financial system”.
Mr Hosi also criticised what he described as poor corporate governance practices within some financial institutions, including GN Bank.
“You carry deposited funds, and you play God, that you are the only one who has the best sense of how to use and turn money around. Lend money to yourself. You do not do that,” he said.
