Following the annulment of the acquisition of shares in adb Bank by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and its subsequent suspension of trading of shares in the equity, investment bankers and analysts have begun asking questions.
The Managing Director of FirstBanC Brokerage, Edem Akpenyo, said the move by BoG has opened up a lot of questions which need to be answered.
According to him, full facts of the case are needed and that the Central Bank needs to offer more information on pre-acquisition and post-annulment of the shares.
According to Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), an investor cannot acquire majority stake in a banking entity without the approval of the Central Bank.
Once approaching 5 per cent and above, approval must be sought from the BoG.
Reports indicate that the Bank of Ghana was not informed in the acquisition because they were done through the Initial Public Offering (IPO).
According to Mr. Akpenyo, “going forward what happens when a bank entity is undertaking an IPO?”
“Does it mean if anybody want to buy more than 5 percent in an IPO, [he or she] must seek approval from the BoG before? It opens a lot of questions which must be answered, by the regulators.”
He also questioned the fate of the other ordinary shareholders who have bought into the ADB IPO.
“Now if Bank of Ghana says shares of certain entities are annulled, what does it mean? These people have spent monies just to buy shares in ADB, are they going to give their monies to them? Are you just taking over the shares and they will not be compensated? These are things we need answers from the BoG.”
Other question which need to be answered is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) position on the matter because ADB is a listed equity.
“[The] entire matter throws lots of spanners into the works of investment industry, and answers need to be provided so we can answer our clients appropriately.”
A banking consultant, Dr. Richmond Atuahene, lauded the Governor of the bank of Ghana for the bold move, adding that it is the best thing that has ever happened to Ghana’s financial sector.
“Sanity is being introduced into the banking sector. Kudos to the governor for being bold and courageous to take this decision. It will help him to enforce all the corporate governance regulations.”
He said further investigation must be done on the issue and those found culpable be referred to the Special Prosecutor.
“If it happens to be true, then it will be the biggest financial crime in the country. All those involved, it does not matter who was then the Governor of the BoG, the SEC boss and other must appear and explain why these things happened because the damaged to the Stock Exchange is going to be enormous.”
By MyePaul Sowah|TV3|3news.com|Ghana