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Customers of all the collapsed financial institutions – banks, microfinance firms, savings & loans companies, finance houses and fund managers – will have a full refund of their locked-up deposits and investments, President Nana Akufo-Addo has said.

“Thus far, the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana have worked together to guarantee payments of 100% of deposits of customers of the failed banks – which is being done”, the President announced in his Christmas message a couple of days ago, adding: “I have directed the Ministry of Finance to work with the Bank of Ghana to ensure that same applies to customers of microfinance and savings and loans companies whose licences have been revoked,” he said.

The financial sector cleanup exercise saw the collapse of nine local banks, 347 microfinance companies, 23 savings & loans and finance houses, as well as 53 fund management companies.

Justifying the collapse of those firms, Mr Akufo-Addo said: “We have had to take painful but necessary measures to sanitise and save the banking system – a process which I know has brought discomfort to many a household”.

“It is worthy to note, however, that the jobs of some 6,500 workers were saved as a result, instead of the 10,000 that could have been lost, in addition to the protection of funds of 4.6 million depositors”, the President added.