The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks, John Awuah, has revealed that nearly 70% of medical doctors who take loans from local banks and emigrate default on repayment.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Business Edition with George Wiafe on October 9, he said the development has become a worrying trend within the banking sector.

He explained that many doctors, who are generally regarded as highly credible, take personal loans from banks and leave the country without repaying.

“Let me tell you, we have heard of doctors. These are on the moral pecking order. When you see a medical doctor, you almost 100% assume that they are not fallible. They don’t make mistakes, and things like borrowing and payment will come to them naturally,” he said.

According to him, the situation is being fueled by doctors who migrate abroad for work after securing loans locally.

“Do you know what doctors are doing to the banking system, particularly those who are offshoring their services, like migrating to other jurisdictions to work? They have bank accounts. They use your bank statements.

"They have, you know, personal loans. The bank will not ask you exactly what you are going to buy since it is a personal loan. They will come to a bank, take like, let’s say, GH¢120,000 or GH¢150,000, take a visa and jump off and leave the loan hanging,” he disclosed.

He noted that although these doctors are gainfully employed abroad, most do not make efforts to settle their debts.

“Wherever they are going, they are working there and earning, and one would think that as medical practitioners, they will just say, ‘I have a liability in Ghana, which enabled me to demonstrate that I can fund my travel, so let me come and settle’.

"About 70% of them are not paying,” he added.

Mr Awuah said the banks are alarmed that professionals held in high esteem are engaging in such practices.

“These are medical doctors, people we hold in high esteem, to the extent that at some point we were even attempting to write to the embassies to seek clearance from banks before they allow visa processes to go through,” he said.

He revealed that the Ghana Association of Banks has begun engaging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the issue through diplomatic channels.

“There are processes we are going through with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact the diplomatic corps, since you don’t just wake up and write to them.

"We’ve already started. There’s a letter that is logged at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is trying to achieve that, but that is a reactive mechanism,” Mr Awuah explained.