Ghana rolls five failed banks into one, and issues $1.2bn in bonds to keep them afloat
Accra — Ghana’s banking regulator said it created a new lender through a merger of five insolvent banks as the country sold 5.8-billion cedis ($1.2bn) in bonds to clear their debt. Bank of Ghana revoked the licences of Unibank Ghana, Royal Bank, Beige Bank, Sovereign Bank and Construction Bank, governor Ernest Addison said on Wednesday. The lenders were among the smallest of Ghana’s 34 previously authorised banks, and the merger is part of increasing efforts to avert failures in an industry that has been beset by poor governance and weak lending. The five lenders’ assets will be transferred to the newly created Consolidated Bank Ghana, which is fully owned by the government, Addison said. The government will provide the bank with 450-million cedis in fresh capital, he said. Deposits safe "All deposits of the five banks are safe and have been transferred to the Consolidated Bank," Addison said. "Customers can carry out their business as usual at their respective banks, which will now...
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