Banks going against BoG directive; still charging unfair fees
Banks in the country are believed to be flouting Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) directive on the abolishment of unfair fees charged on the provision of banking products and services.
The believe that the practice is ongoing is on the back of the recent reiteration of the directive by the Central Bank to banks and specialised-deposit taking institutions (SDIs) in the country.
In June 2021, the Bank of Ghana warned commercial banks and specialised deposit-taking institutions (SDIs) in Ghana to abolish unfair charges in the banking sector.
In a statement, the Bank of Ghana noted that seven charges are being implemented by banks and SDI which are deemed to be unfair, inappropriate and detrimental to the financial inclusion agenda and the protection of customers’ interests.
These charges included Credit Insurance Premium Overcharges, Maintenance fees on Savings accounts, Over the counter (OTC) withdrawal charges, Change of ownership of collateral documents, Application of interest on penal charges, Quotation of monthly interest rates on credit facilities and Third-party deposit/withdrawal violations.
According to a recent statement which sought to update Ghanaians on the abolition of unfair fees, charges and other practices, the Central Bank tasked customers to report any suspicious or unapproved charges from their financial institutions.
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Speaking on the second notice issued to bank’s and SDIs on the abolishment of fees and charges by the BoG, Banking Consultant, Nana Otuo Acheampong, bemoaned the continuous charging of fees by some banks in the country contrary to directives from the Bank of Ghana.
“They [the BoG] know from the complaints they’re receiving whether the banks or the financial institutions are complying or not so for them to have repeated the announcement, indicates that they are getting a lot of complaints. They’ve already hinted that sooner or later, they’re going to come out with a league table of the institutions and rank them in the ones that receive the highest complaints against those that get the lowest.”
“So the complaints department is very active and for them to have released this notice again, I’m only suspecting that maybe a lot of complaints have been going that this directive is in place but the banks are still charging the fees,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the BoG says it will not hesitate to deal with banks and SDIs that are not compliant with the directive.
