Obtain operating licenses or risk closure - BoG tells Cooperative Credit Unions

The Bank of Ghana (BoG),has given all Cooperative Credit Unions and other Cooperative financial institutions up to the end of April this year (2018) to obtain their operating Licenses or risk closure.

Managers of these organisations could face other severe sanctions at the end of the deadline if they do not comply. 

The Ashanti Regional Director of the Department of Cooperatives, Charles Kwaku Boateng, disclosed this to GBC’S Radio Ghana in Kumasi.

Mr. Boateng, emphasized that the directive is targeted at all Cooperative Credit Unions and other Cooperative financial institutions. 

He noted that in the Ashanti Region alone, there are about 300 Cooperative Credit Unions and 20 other Cooperative Financial Institutions including Mutual funds. 

He said the April deadline follows a period given by the Bank of Ghana from March last year for all these Institutions to obtain operating license in line with Central Bank’s Legislative Instrument 2225 of 2015 which also created the Cooperative Credit Unions Supervising Agency to regulate their activities. 

He said, the law is meant to protect the interest of customers and depositors of such organization to forestall a recurrence of the DKM and God is Love saga in the Brong Ahafo Region. 

The Regional Director of the Department of Cooperatives explained that the institutions concerned have no option than to comply with the directive by the Bank of Ghana to ensure that the interest of their members safeguarded. 

Mr. Boateng said however, that the new directive does not take away the duty of the Department of Cooperatives which is mandated by the Cooperative Society’s Act of 1968, NLC252 to register all such entities for close supervision and monitoring.

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