The Bank of Ghana is likely to take action on some troubled banks in the coming days. 

JOYBUSINESS has learnt that the move could result in the regulator announcing the take-over of some banks or to appoint another bank to manage these institutions said to be in financial distress. 

Sources say this could be the last round of action by the regulator in dealing with these “troubled” banks.

Which Banks could be affected?

Information picked up by JOYBUSINESS suggests the action could affect five commercial banks as the regulator moves to deal with challenges facing the banking sector.

Sources say the regulator could settle on NIB or ADB to undertake this action, just like it did in the case of UT and capital bank whose assets were taken by GCB.

JOYBUSINESS will not disclose the names of the banks at least for now.

Would this action happen?

Looking at past experiences, what JOYBUSINESS can say is that “It’s likely”. This is because some of these actions might require the “political blessing” of the government in power.

It has been suggested that government might be called on to finance some of the cost that would be associated with these “regulatory actions”.

If the political blessing is not secured, then maybe this “move” or today’s action may not see the light of day after all.

Persons close to the industry have also argued that there is no need to panic because all the necessary measures have been taken to lessen any negative impact on the market.

Minimum Capital Blues  

The Bank of Ghana in the coming months could take series of actions to ensure that they are not taken by surprise and it is paying close attention to banks that may not be able to meet the new capital requirement of 400 million cedis by December this year. 

Construction Bank, for instance, is said to be working to fold up by August 31 this year. Sources say this is due to its inability to meet the new capital requirement.