The next time you try opening a dollar account to benefit from the cedi’s decline, you should expect to pay new charges for it. This is because some commercial banks have started passing on to depositors, the cost they incur in managing Foreign Currency Accounts. The move is in response to the Bank of Ghana’s directive for commercial banks to keep nine percent of their dollar deposits in cedis at the central bank. This is expected to free- up dollars that is locked up in reserve. But Managing Director of Barclays Bank, Benjamin Dabrah tells JOYBUSINESS the banks are not doing anything out of the ordinary. “The recent measures by the Cnetral Bank have meant that the cost of keeping dollars on behalf of my clients has increased significantly and that invariably requires we adjust the pricing for our clients” he said. He also explains how the charges have been worked out especially for those who want to open a dollar account at Barclays Bank for instance. “. So it is very transparent because if you have a dollar account, it is quiet easy to work out what your balance is and what 9 percent of that is in cedi terms. As market interest rates change am sure the cost would change as well but at the moment, is just between 2 and 3 percent per annum” he added. Meanwhile it appears the cedi is somewhat stabilizing against the dollar on the interbank market. Analysts however attribute this to inflows from the recent bond issue and the rise in interest on cedi investments rather than the Bank of Ghana’s intervention measures. You would need 1 cedi 95 pesewas to buy the dollar on the Forex Market, whiles you will need 1cedi 89 pesewas on the interbank market