Why Ghana Hammered Nigerian Banks

Ghana Central Bank  has suspended  the trading foreign exchange licenses of two Nigerian banks.

The two banks, GTB Ghana and First Bank Ghana were issued a one month suspension for alleged Forex malpractices, the GCB authority said on Tuesday in a statement.

The statement however said the licences will be restored after one month if the banks are able put in place effective control measures.

The statement read: “Bank of Ghana has suspended the Foreign Exchange Trading Licences of Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana Limited (GTB) and FBNBank Ghana Limited (FBN), effective 18th March 2024, for a period of one (1) month, in accordance with section 11 (2) of the Foreign Exchange Act 2006, (Act 723).

“This is as a result of various breaches of the foreign exchange market regulations, including fraudulent documentation in their foreign exchange operations which have come to the attention of Bank of Ghana.

“The licence will be restored at the end of the one-month suspension period once the Bank of Ghana is satisfied that they have put in place effective controls to ensure strict adherence to the foreign exchange market regulations.”

The GCB further warned foreign exchange market players from infracting on the country’s extant financial  guidelines and regulations.

By this statement, we caution foreign exchange market players to adhere strictly to the applicable forex market regulations and guidelines.”

Banks React

Reacting to the suspension, the GTB Ghana said in a statement that it it’s already engaging the Ghanaian authority on the issue, the bank urged the customers not to panic.

The statement said, “we refer to the Bank of Ghana’s announcement of the 30-day suspension of our Foreign Exchange Trading Licence effective March 18, 2024, and would like to inform our valued customers and esteemed stakeholders that we are collaborating with the Bank of Ghana to rectify the identified trade-related concerns.

“This includes branch operations, agent banking partners, and channels for seamless banking. We reaffirm our commitment to our customers and stakeholders and will continue to maintain the high ethical standards we are renowned for.”

“We would like to assure all our esteemed customers and stakeholders that we are currently working with the relevant Government Agencies and customers with a view to resolving these trade-related issues timely.

Our customers and stakeholders are our primary responsibility and, Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana would like to clarify that this development does not a­ect customers’ own deposits and other business segments of our operations. All other products and services ;- Main branches, Agency Banking outlets are available for your convenient use at our regular opening hours and our Mobile Apps and Internet banking are available for your use at any time of the day.

We further assure our customers that the issue was not a function of willful non-compliance by the Bank, as the Bank has a culture that endeavours to comply with regulations at all times and stringent Anti-Money Laundering CFT policies which are applied across all our operations.

We are also in ongoing consultations and discussions with the Central Bank of Ghana to fully resolve all matters raised in the shortest possible time. Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana remains committed to being a constructive participant in Ghana’s nancial markets and to contributing to its further developments in the interest of all its customers and stakeholders.

On its part, FBN Ghana urged customers to be patience as efforts are ongoing to engage with the regulatory authority in Ghana with the aim of lifting the suspension.

According to the statement said, “we refer to the Bank of Ghana’s announcement of the 30-day suspension of our Foreign Exchange Trading Licence effective March 18, 2024, and would like to inform our valued customers and esteemed stakeholders that we are collaborating with the Bank of Ghana to rectify the identified trade-related concerns.

“This includes branch operations, agent banking partners, and channels for seamless banking. We reaffirm our commitment to our customers and stakeholders and will continue to maintain the high ethical standards we are renowned for.”