The Bank of Ghana is preparing to completely withdraw from its remaining ownership interests in the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and the National Investment Bank (NIB) as part of efforts to reinforce its role as an independent financial sector regulator.
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, said the central bank’s decision to sell its residual shares was aimed at eliminating any potential conflict between its regulatory responsibilities and ownership interests in commercial banks.
Speaking after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Dr Asiama said the BoG Board had already approved the disposal of the central bank’s remaining 13 percent stake in ADB.
He said the transaction was expected to be completed later this year.
“In the case of Agricultural Development Bank, we still have some residual shares, about 13 percent. The Bank of Ghana Board has taken the decision that we should dispose of that shareholding,” he said.
The Governor also disclosed that the central bank would sell its remaining interest in NIB, which he said was approximately one percent.
“Bank of Ghana certainly will get out of the space. We are the regulator and we’ll continue to be the regulator in that area,” Dr Asiama stated.
The move is expected to further separate the central bank’s supervisory functions from direct ownership in financial institutions.
Meanwhile, Dr Asiama said Ghana’s business and consumer confidence had remained broadly stable despite a marginal decline in recent indicators.
He attributed the slight dip largely to global economic uncertainties, including geopolitical tensions and international financial pressures.
According to him, the impact of global shocks was being felt by both businesses and households but had not resulted in a significant deterioration in domestic economic conditions.
“The dip we have seen is quite a marginal one, just a small dip. You can even see that it is remaining flat. It hasn’t been significant,” he said.
Dr Asiama said assessments presented to the Bank of Ghana, including feedback from the Chartered Institute of Bankers, showed that confidence levels remained generally steady.
He maintained that the current trends reflected the impact of external developments rather than a fundamental weakening of Ghana’s economic conditions.
