Local Banks May Compromise Over Gh� 60m Recapitalization

Some financial analysts have told Citi Business News most of the local banks would be forced to make compromises if their moves to recapitalize to the Bank of Ghana�s Gh?60 million target does not materialize in a couple of months. After six months, just four out of the 11 local banks have met the deadline which will elapse this December. UT Bank and CAL joined the elite group which already has Ghana Commercial Bank and the Agricultural Development Bank. With six months to go, it is most likely that some of the banks would be forced to take any offer, or settle for peanuts to just to ensure they meet the deadline. Apart from a handful of the local banks like UniBank and HFC that have clearly stated their intention on how they will find that Gh?60 million, the rest are hopping from one investor to the other both locally and internationally to invest. UniBank and HFC have opted for Rights Issue to raise the money. The National Investment Bank (NIB) has been silent, but Citi Business News investigations reveal government is considering looking for buyers. If push comes to shove government might just have to find money somewhere and pump into the bank, our probe shows. For Merchant Bank, Citi Business News understands that South African bank, First Rand Bank has completed due diligence on its intentions to acquire it, but insider information reveals the South Africans do not want to acquire the bank with the huge debt. It is unclear how this would end up. As at the end of the first quarter of this year, shareholders of Fidelity Bank had given the bank the all-clear to raise US$20 million through private placement to recapitalise. There is not much now from First Atlantic Merchant after SSNIT declared its intentions to offload its over 50 percent stake in the bank to Nigerian-based strategic investor the Kaderi Nominees Limited. There is a reprieve though by the Bank of Ghana for those who want to recapitalize but this would mean they have to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange to raise the money. According to Citi Business News checks, some of the banks are open to that option.