The September 2019 Banking Sector Report released by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has revealed that depositors were converting their domestic deposits into foreign currency accounts as a means of ensuring they get actual values from investments.
The report said domestic deposits have recorded 9.1 percent growth, as against 20 percent for the same period in 2018, as a result of the unstable currency.
However, foreign deposits grew to 21.2 percent as against 18.6 percent last year.
The Business and Financial Times reports on Tuesday that Dr. Richmond Atuahene, a Banking consultant, said the situation was clear that the depositors did not have confidence in the local currency.
“It is an indicator that people are not interested in holding the cedi and are now switching to a stable currency because they think it is safer. This doesn’t show the robustness of the banking sector that people are talking about. People don’t have confidence in the cedi and this is why the report shows that they are converting their monies to foreign currency,” Atuahene said.
DAP/GIK/APA