Anthony Sarpong, a Senior Partner at KPMG Ghana, has warned the Bank of Ghana and other African central banks to learn from the collapse of banks in developed countries to prevent a similar situation in the future.
He recommended that one way to prevent the collapse of banks is to maintain adequate liquidity to meet customer withdrawals. He made this comment after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and other larger financial institutions in the United States.
Mr Sarpong urged the Bank of Ghana to ensure sufficient liquidity in the banking industry and expressed confidence that the measures taken by the Bank of Ghana to support banks in the ongoing debt restructuring programme would help deal with any potential risks.
Speaking in an interview with Joy Business, Mr Sarpong explained that the collapse of banks in developed countries should be a warning to the banking industry.
He further stated that the fear that the situation has triggered in the United States should not have a negative impact on Ghanaian banks as they go through their own challenges.
“You noticed that the regulator has taken swift action to contain the effect of what is happening in the United States on the banking sector and any potential spill-over. So we won't expect any effects,” he said.
However, he warned that the situation is developing and must be watched with caution. “It's a developing situation and therefore must be watched with caution so that the fear it triggered in the US does not have a negative impact on Ghanaian banks as we go through our own challenges,” he added.
He concluded by urging the Bank of Ghana to ensure sufficient liquidity in the banking industry. “The main area is to ensure sufficient liquidity of the banks, and the Bank of Ghana has assured of liquidity support to our banks. So one will be sure that we won't go through a similar situation as we go on with our own debt restructuring,” he said.
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