Don’t give mobilised funds to associates as loan - Deputy Governor advises BestPoint (Tuesday, November 5, 2014)

The Bank of Ghana says it will not condone the phenomenon where owners and directors of non-bank financial institutions mobilise funds and loan it to their associates.
 The First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Millison Narh, speaking at the event. Those with him are board and management members of the company and other dignitaries.
“Shareholders and owners should desist from such activities and respect the limits of the Banking Act with respect to lending to connected entities to avoid the abuse of the law ,” the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Millison Narh, said at the opening of the Makola Branch of BestPoint Savings and Loans in Accra yesterday. 

Mr Narh said the central bank would continue to monitor the situation and mete out appropriate sanctions when it became necessary. 

The Deputy Governor also warned against using the funds of depositors to expand the infrastructure of non-bank financial institutions, saying the practice put pressure on management to increase the lending rate of such institutions and eventually increase bank loan rates.
  
He, therefore, urged BestPoint and other non-bank financial institutions in the country to institute risk management measures that would protect shareholders and depositors’ funds.

Mr Narh commended the company for its performance within the last 10 months saying, “The competition in the Ghanaian banking industry has become keener as customers have  become more sophisticated and selective, a situation that demands that financial institutions go the extra mile to satisfy their clients”.

BestPoint performance 

BestPoint opened its first branch at Achimota Mile 7 in Accra in January this year. Within 10 months, it has been able to establish account relationship with 20,000 customers, mobilised a little over GH¢20 million and granted close to GH¢5 million in loans to its clients.
Besides the Makola branch, two other branches — Accra New Town and Abbosey Okai — were opened yesterday. 

While the Kejetia branch is expected to be opened by mid-November, six other branches are scheduled to be opened in the Greater Accra, Western and Ashanti regions by April next year.

Board Chairman 

The Board Chairman of the company,Mr Ernest Ofori Sarpong, said that the Board of Directors would at all times ensure that BestPoint complied with the legal and regulatory framework governing banking in Ghana, to ensure the sanctity of its operations and the safety of investments of its clients. 

He said it had always been the dream of the shareholders of the company to create a platform to care for those with limited or no access to financial services which were major necessities for prosperity.

“As shareholders who have gone through life from very humble beginnings to reach this point in our lives, we are living witnesses to how financial inclusion of the less -privileged can impact on individuals, households and businesses.”

The Managing Director of BestPoint, Mr Kofi Ampofo Agyapong, stated that the decision to increase the number of branches was because of  the long distances people had to trek to transact business at the Mile 7 branch of the company. 

Writer’s email:seth.bokpe@graphic.com.gh
The Bank of Ghana says it will not condone the phenomenon where owners and directors of non-bank financial institutions mobilise funds and loan it to their associates.
“Shareholders and owners should desist from such activities and respect the limits of the Banking Act with respect to lending to connected entities to avoid the abuse of the law ,” the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Millison Narh, said at the opening of the Makola Branch of BestPoint Savings and Loans in Accra yesterday. 
Mr Narh said the central bank would continue to monitor the situation and mete out appropriate sanctions when it became necessary. 
The Deputy Governor also warned against using the funds of depositors to expand the infrastructure of non-bank financial institutions, saying the practice put pressure on management to increase the lending rate of such institutions and eventually increase bank loan rates.  
He, therefore, urged BestPoint and other non-bank financial institutions in the country to institute risk management measures that would protect shareholders and depositors’ funds.
Mr Narh commended the company for its performance within the last 10 months saying, “The competition in the Ghanaian banking industry has become keener as customers have  become more sophisticated and selective, a situation that demands that financial institutions go the extra mile to satisfy their clients”.
BestPoint performance 
BestPoint opened its first branch at Achimota Mile 7 in Accra in January this year. Within 10 months, it has been able to establish account relationship with 20,000 customers, mobilised a little over GH¢20 million and granted close to GH¢5 million in loans to its clients.
Besides the Makola branch, two other branches — Accra New Town and Abbosey Okai — were opened yesterday. 
While the Kejetia branch is expected to be opened by mid-November, six other branches are scheduled to be opened in the Greater Accra, Western and Ashanti regions by April next year.
Board Chairman 
The Board Chairman of the company,Mr Ernest Ofori Sarpong, said that the Board of Directors would at all times ensure that BestPoint complied with the legal and regulatory framework governing banking in Ghana, to ensure the sanctity of its operations and the safety of investments of its clients. 
He said it had always been the dream of the shareholders of the company to create a platform to care for those with limited or no access to financial services which were major necessities for prosperity.
“As shareholders who have gone through life from very humble beginnings to reach this point in our lives, we are living witnesses to how financial inclusion of the less -privileged can impact on individuals, households and businesses.”
The Managing Director of BestPoint, Mr Kofi Ampofo Agyapong, stated that the decision to increase the number of branches was because of  the long distances people had to trek to transact business at the Mile 7 branch of the company. 

Writer’s email:seth.bokpe@graphic.com.gh
riter’s email:seth.bokpe@graphic.com.gh

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