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Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr says he refuses to accept the excuse that negligence on the part of some leaders of the merged banks led to its current state, rather government and some citizens should also be blamed.  

“I will not accept the blame that some bank institution leaders are the cause of their banks malfunction, rather government’s numerous deficits and some citizens’ unpaid loans to some of the banks are also a major factor,” he said.

He said local banks in Ghana will continue to suffer if the laws of banking continue not to favour them over foreign banks like other countries do.

“I found it amazing that foreign banks are left to operate in the same procedures and same total adequacy rate, just as local banks in this country. So how do we grow and improve local banks under these criteria?” he asked

Speaking on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ programme, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. stressed that reading through Bank of Ghana’s documents in respect of it merging five banks into the Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited from its beginning to end, “there will be no way Bank of Ghana can be exonerated for it has in itself totally failed its laws of operating as a mother bank”.

“How can you grant licenses to a yet-to-become banks that has fault with its documents . . .  it is a statement over your capacity as the issuer to do due diligence,” he stressed.

Speaking to the issue in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on PeaceFM's 'Kokrokoo' Thursday, Mrs Elsie Awadzi, 2nd Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana admitted that even though the banks were at fault, the "supervisory role" at the Bank of Ghana was "not adequate".

On Wednesday, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) announced the merging of five banks to form Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited.

The beleaguered banks are: UniBank Ghana Limited, The Royal Bank Limited, Beige Bank Limited, Sovereign Bank Limited, and Construction Bank Limited.