The Ghana Association of Savings and Loans Companies (GHASALC) granted a total of 12.947 million loans valued at 4.893 billion cedis as at the end of 2019.

It was an increase from 7.926 million of loans valued at about GH¢3.212 billion cedis granted in 2018 by members of the association.

This constitutes a 48 percent increase in loan facilities by members of the association despite challenges in the 2019 financial year.

Executive Secretary of GHASALC, Tweneboah Kodua Boakye, says the sector disburses the highest number of loans in the whole credit space.

“It is heartwarming to note that our sector disburses the highest number of loans in the whole credit market especially with the use of the Digital Platforms,” Mr Boakye said.

He disclosed this at the 10th Annual General Meeting of the association held virtually due to the restrictions of social gathering and other Covid-19 protocols.

The association ended the year 2019 with 25 members due to the license revocation of 14 members.

With over 8,500 staff, the remaining members collectively served in excess of 6 million customers across 555 business centres in all the regions with total assets of about 4.57 billion Ghana Cedis.

2019 Financial Overview

The overall financial position of the association saw a decline because there was a 14 percent drop in revenue from Membership Subscription due to the unfortunate exit of 14 of its members due to license revocation.

Officials say GHASALC actually lost about 84,000 Ghana Cedis as a result.

The Subscriptions were able to cover only 52 percent of the core expenditure as compared to 78 percent in the previous year.

Due to these challenges, Mr Kodua Boakye says it increased the public engagement and other activities which brought an increase of 28 percent in core expenditure.

Some of the challenges that continues to confront its members include the uneasiness in the financial market and the difficulty in winning back customer confidence during the license revocation era and even after.

Building Synergies for Growth

Theme for this year’s Annual General Meeting was “Building Synergies for Growth”.

The association has agreed that after reviewing the respective business models discussed last year to ensure sustainability, it has seen the need to collaborate with each other.

Board Chairman, Kwaku Duah Berchie, says there is the need to see each other as partners instead of competitors.

“There are a lot of opportunities the industry can take advantage of if we collaborate and share experiences. Regulators should continue to see the association as a partner in the system and that business executives are also there to support the process.

He continues that more healthy collaborations and dialogue with both government, the regulator and other stakeholders is expected as it charts a new path for the sector and the industry as a whole.

“it is our hope that as the Regulator considers the Savings and Loans Sector as a critical player in the financial intermediation process of the country, attention will be paid continuously to the various issues confronting the sector, as we dialogue to settle on a suitable business model for the sector”.

New Leadership

The AGM also elected New Board Members for the Association for the next 2 years.

Managing Director for Best Point Savings and Loans, Philip Odei Asare becomes the new Chairman with CEO of Opportunity International Savings and Loans, Mr. Kwame Owusu-Boateng as Vice Chairman.

Other Board Members are Anthony Gyasi - Fosu (CEO, Sinapi Aba S&L), Mrs. Lydia Daddy (MD, Services Integrity S&L), Olivier Bailly-Bechet (MD, Advans S&L) and Yusif Abubakari (MD, Jins S&L).