NIB lost GH¢857,000 due to government’s DDEP

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Workers of the National Investment Bank listed some of the challenges that have plagued the bank in the last few years and have resulted in the current state.

The workers in an open letter made a plea to the government to help recapitalize the bank and save it from impending collapse.

Among other things, the workers cited various internal problems that have led to the bank’s current position including the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.

They noted that the Bank of Ghana’s embargo on granting of loans for the past six (6) years is “practically depriving the bank of huge interest income and technically out of trade and business.”

“Secondly, a chunk of non-performing loans totaling over GHS2.1 billion granted to companies and individuals to execute government of Ghana projects. These companies and individuals have executed the projects, raised Interim Payment Certificates, and are yet to be paid by the government.

“Thirdly, the Bank’s investments in Government of Ghana bonds of GHS857,000.00 held up and affected by the Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) is also not helping matters,” parts of the statement read.

The staff further noted that despite these challenges, the Bank has performed “excellently well by increasing its deposit position from GHS3.2 billion in August 2022 to GHS5.1 billion in August 2023.”

“Deposit increases month on month and the target of a billion-year ending December 2023 is highly achievable. The goodwill from our loyal customers has been amazing as the bank opens over 2,000 new accounts every month. The bank’s nationwide customer cash collection service is second to none.

“Internal management staffing restructuring has been successful. The staff strength saw a reduction from 1700 in 2021 to a little over 900 in July 2023. There is still the edge for further downsizing to ensure efficiency and increase savings,” the statement said.

The workers are also pleading with the government to reconsider the decision to hand over the operations of NIB to the Agricultural Development.

By: www.ghanaweb.com