Commercial Banks to Benefit from New Revenue Stream With Ghana Gold Coin Initiative
Commercial banks in the country will benefit from an additional revenue source with the introduction of the Ghana Gold Coin (GGC) by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
Currently, the two main sources of revenue from the operation of banks are in the form of interest on loans as well as fees and commissions on products and services offered.
The additional revenue is expected to further bolster the net profit of banks operating in the country.
In a Q&A document published by the BoG, commercial banks are going to facilitate the purchase and sale of the GGC by the public at a transactional fee.
Additionally, the GGC purchased by the public can be kept with commercial banks for safekeeping at a marginal fee.
The banking sector’s performance according to the BoG continued to improve, with assets growing at 38.7 percent at end-August 2024, compared to 19.6 percent in August 2023.
Both pre-tax and after-tax profits were higher in the first eight months of 2024 relative to the same period last year.
On solvency, the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the industry stood at 10.3 percent in August 2024, higher than the 7.5 percent recorded in August 2023. With reliefs, CAR was 13.8 percent in August 2024, compared to 14.2 percent in August 2023.
Liquidity and efficiency ratios also improved during the first eight months of the year, highlighting that broadly, key financial soundness indicators are improving in the banking sector and remaining positive
The launch of the Ghana Gold Coin (GGC) according to the Central Bank is aimed at deepening the country’s financial markets and providing citizens with a novel investment opportunity.
The GGC, available in denominations of 1 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1/4 oz, is manufactured from 99.99% pure gold sourced from responsibly mined deposits within Ghana.
The introduction of the GGC the BoG asserts, serves multiple purposes but primarily it allows the central bank to manage liquidity more effectively by mopping up excess cedi in the banking sector.
Adding that, the tool will complement existing monetary policy instruments such as Bank of Ghana Bills and overnight deposits in open market operations.
