First National Bank Ghana has temporarily halted the processing of new or pending foreign exchange transactions for 30 days.

This is due to the suspension of the respective forex licences of the banks from June 29, 2023, to July 28, 2023.

In a statement in reaction to the Central Bank’s directive, it said “To minimize any possible disruptions, we have made temporary arrangements with partner banks to initiate and complete foreign exchange deals for and on behalf of First National Bank Ghana and its clients, should the need arise”.

It said “As a bank, we hold ourselves to the highest operational and regulatory standards in every
aspect of our business. We are committed to reaching an amicable resolution with the Bank of Ghana for the restoration of our Foreign Exchange license.”

The Bank of Ghana in a statement fined Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited and First National Bank Ghana Limited a combined 1000 penalty points each for breaching sections 3.4, 3.5, and 3.9 of the Ghana Interbank Forex Market Conduct rules.

“By this notice, we caution forex market players including banks, forex bureaus, forex brokers, and money transfer operators (MTOs) to adhere strictly to the applicable forex market regulations and guidelines,” a statement from the BoG said.