2019 was a year “full of issues” for the Savings and Loans Industry, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Association of Savings and Loans Companies (GHASALC) has admitted.

Tweneboah Kodua Boakye assured his clients that the future of the industry is far brighter than what is being seen now.  

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express Thursday, he was positive that whatever appears to be broken in the industry will be fixed.

Mr Boakye said this to assuage the pains of clients of savings and loans companies which became victims of the Bank of Ghana’s Financial Sector Clean up. The BoG revoked the licences of twenty-three insolvent savings and loans companies and finance house companies in August 2019.

According to a statement from BoG, “The revocation of the licences of these institutions has become necessary because they were insolvent even after a reasonable period within which the Bank of Ghana has engaged with them in the hope that they would be recapitalized by their shareholders to return them to solvency.”

The statement added, “It is the Bank of Ghana’s assessment that these institutions have no reasonable prospects of recovery, and that their continued existence poses severe risks to the stability of the financial system and to the interests of their depositors.”

The development which led to panic withdrawals also dipped confidence in the industry,  leaving just 25 savings and loans companies to serve some 6m customers. 

But in an attempt to calm nerves and restore confidence in the sector, Mr Boakye has asked the saving public to continue to do business with them, including relying on them for loans. 

However, he urged them to report any infraction they notice while doing business with any savings and loans company for the situation to be remedied immediately. 

Thanking the Bank of Ghana for involving the Ghana Association of Savings and Loans Companies (GHASALC) in its policy decisions relating to savings and loans companies, he urged the bank to also ensure the timeous refund of monies to clients whose funds locked up as a result of the Financial Sector Clean up.