Members of the Individual Bondholders Forum, who are currently working on the Finance Ministry’s Domestic Debt Exchange programme, have responded to the agreement reached between the Government and the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) on the new terms for the programme.
On Monday, January 23, the Ghanaian government and the GAB reached an agreement.
Previously, banks had rejected the government’s announced programme.
The GAB directed commercial banks not to sign on to the amended debt exchange offer due to uncertainty about the debt restructuring’s impact on the banking industry.
The association wants its concerns addressed before accepting the debt exchange offer, according to a letter sent to managing directors of banks and seen by 3Business. GAB told member banks that may want to consider the debt exchange in its current form to formally inform the association first before doing so.
“…From the uncertainty surrounding the programme, GAB recommends that all banks must stay any further movement on the exchange until our demands have been met. However, in the event that a bank may have to move forward to exchange, the MD/CEO must inform the CEO of GAB directly of the decision,” according to the letter sent to the banks.”
However, after an engagement with the Ministry of Finance, the Association of Banks that per the new terms, the participation of member banks is subjected to individual bank’s internal governance and approval processes.
