Skip to main content

More banks reduce their base rate

By Kofi AHOVI
Universal banks continue to slash down their base lending rates, in response to the reduction in the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) policy rate which was reduced by 150 basis points from 15% to 13.5%.

The latest banks to reduce their base rates are Amalbank, Sahel Shara Bank, Zenith Bank, Unibank, HFC Bank, The Trust Bank (TTB), Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and Stanbic Bank

Amalbank’s new base rate is 25.95% down from 27.7% representing 1.75% reduction, while Sahel Sahara Bank stands at 27.5% from 29.5% representing 2% reduction. Zenith Bank is also down to 26.5% from 28.5%, a decline of 2%. That of Unibank is also now 26.95% down from 28.75%, a reduction of 1.8% while HFC Bank has dropped its rate to 27.5% from 28.75% representing 1.25%. Stanbic’s rate is now 23.97 from 26.75%, a reduction of 2.78%. The Trust Bank now has a rate of 25% and SCB’s is 24%.

Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), which reduced its rate by 4.25% from 27% to 22.75% in April this year, is yet to reduce its rate in consonance with the recent policy rate cut by the BoG. Deputy Managing Director, Samuel Amankwah explained that though management is yet to decide on it, the current rate is one of the lowest on the market.

Already CAL Bank has reduced its rates from 27.75% to 26%, a decline of 1.75% while United Bank for Africa (UBA) reduced its own from 27% to 25%, a 2% reduction. The new rates of the respective banks take effect from Today, August 2, 2010.

The average reduction in the base lending rates is 1.91%.

More banks are expected to reduce their base lending rate in the coming weeks.

Institutions such as the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF) see the reduction as boost to production, as they have consistently complained about the relatively high interest rates, despite the consistent decline in the central bank’s policy rate over the past years.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

MTN Ghana & MTN MoMo CEOs win laurels at Ghana CEO Awards

  The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh ,   has been adjudged  CEO of the Year  –  Telecom  at the  2 nd  edition of the  Ghana CEO  Vision  and  Awards   held  in Accra. At the same event, the CEO of Mobile Money Limited (MTN MoMo), Shaibu Haruna was also adjudged CEO of the Year – FinTech Service Provider. Selorm  Adadevoh’s award  is in recognition  of  his   achievements   in the areas of   sustainability, leadership excellence, innovation and others  in the telecoms space  which  has contributed to  job creation to support the  growth of Ghana’s economy. Patrick Afari (r), General Manager, Supply Chain Management and General Services receiving CEO of the Year – Telecom Award on behalf of Selorm Adadevoh Receiving the award on behalf of Selorm, Patrick Afari, General Manager, Supply Chain Management and General Services ,  expressed appreciation to the organizers for the award. He  noted that  th e  award will go a long way to inspire MTN to do more for Ghanaian

EB-ACCION DISBURSES US$15 MILLION

By Fred SARPONG Ecobank-Accion (EB-Accion), a partnership between Ecobank Ghana Limited and Accion International has disbursed amount to the tune of $15 million to over 36,000 borrowers in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector in the country, since the institution was set up barely six months ago. Frances Adu-Mantey, the Managing Director of EB-Accion disclosed this to Business Week in Accra last week during the official opening of Accion Hub headquarters in Africa. The institution’s current portfolio stands at GH¢4 million. She stated that currently, EB-Accion have over 6100 customers who save with them throughout the four branches of the institution. According to her, in order to improve the services of the institution, Ecobank Share Services center will facilitate the technology aspect of the bank by networking all the branches of EB-Accion. Maria Otero, President and Chief Executive Officer of Accion International said that the center’s staff in Accra will provide supp

Amantin & Kasei Community Bank posts impressive growth, with over GH¢1m profit

 Amantin and Kasei Community Bank, at Amantin in the Bono East Region has posted impressive growth in all the performance indicators during 2022 financial year under review. The bank recorded profit after tax of GH¢1,055,662, representing 35.66% more over the 2021 figure of GH¢778.151. This achievement stemmed out of 49.24% gross income growth from GH¢8,143,526 to GH¢12,153,537. Total deposits of the bank went up by 36.20%, changing from GH¢50,959,848 in 2021 to GH¢69,405,591 in 2022. The bank increased loans and advances by 22.15% from GH¢14,128,017 to GH¢17,257,614. Total assets showed an appreciation of 29.32%, amounting to GH¢77,918,288 as against GH¢60,250,693 in the previous year. On the other hand, the bank posted a marginal increase in short term investments portfolio from GH¢24,439,761 to GH¢26,585,698, indicating 8.78% change. The Chairman of Board of Directors, Amantin and Kasei Community Bank, Dr. John Oduro-Boateng, disclosed this during the 18th annual general meeting of