Databank Financial Services Limited has said its partnership with commercial banks is in no way a merger with any of those banks.
In a statement signed by Group CEO Kojo Addae-Mensah, the investment bank said its partnership with the universal banks should not be misinterpreted by the public “as part of the ongoing consolidation exercise of commercial banks” by the Bank of Ghana.
“We wish to, therefore, allay any concerns that the investing public, general public and our esteemed customers may have about the implications of our partnerships with the various commercial banks. It is in no way a consolidation nor a signal that Databank is merging with any commercial bank.
That is not a part of our strategic vision currently. Our goal is to focus on our core mandate of providing investment solutions to Ghanaians,” Mr Addae-Mensah said.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) recently fused uniBank together with Sovereign Bank, The Royal Bank, The Beige Bank and The Construction Bank to form Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) Limited.
The fusion of the five banks followed the takeover of two other local banks: UT Bank and Capital Bank by GCB Bank in August 2017 with the blessing of the regulator after it emerged that they were in dire straits.
In total, seven local banks have gone under, as the Bank of Ghana’s 31 December 2018 deadline for all universal banks to recapitalise from the GHS120 million to GHS400 million draws closer.
However, Databank has assured the public that it is not part of the mopping exercise in the financial sector being carried out by the central bank.
“We wish to inform the general public and our esteemed customers that Databank is not a commercial bank and is therefore not part of the ongoing sanitisation exercise taking place within the banking industry. Databank, which was founded in 1990, is Ghana’s premier and largest independent investment firm. We are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and governed by the Securities Industry Act, 2016 (Act 929) and its regulations thereof. Commercial banks are regulated by the Bank of Ghana and governed by the Banks and Specialized Deposit Taking Institutions Act 2016, Act 930,” the statement added.
