Citi Business News has gathered that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) may allow commercial banks to acquire between 10 and 20 percent stake in the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS).
The process which is to allow for greater collaboration and efficiency between the banks and GhIPSS is expected to be completed by the close of the year.
Speaking to Citi Business News, the Chief Executive Officer of GhIPSS Archie Hesse said the central bank is currently considering the modalities to be used in offloading the yet to be approved shares to the banks.
“They are flexible but we have heard that between 10 and 20 percent or so is what the central bank hopes to offload. As in other jurisdictions, the banks own somewhere in that region,” he said.
He pointed out that GhIPSS has completed one of the major processes which is the valuation.
“There are processes that we need to go through, one of them is the valuation of GhIPSS which am pleased to say that we have completed,” he said.
Cititing the next move that will be taken, Mr. Hesse stated that GhIPSS is now coming out with guidelines to enhance the process.
“We are now considering what should be the guiding principle and the rules that should be in place to ensure fairness that is where we are now,” he said.
Mr. Hesse stated that the central bank is studying how the procedure has been rolled out by other countries.
“We are currently understudying a couple of countries that have gone through this process. In our conversation in the past the central bank wants to leave that with the banks to decide the number of shares they would want to acquire,” he said.
This comes after the transactional advisor appointed to value and audit GHIPSS completed its works having gone through the 2014 financials of the company.
The move, according to GHIPSS will allow for greater collaboration and efficiency with banks.
The GhIPSS is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana.
GhIPSS was incorporated in May 2007 with a mandate to implement and manage payment system infrastructures for banks and non bank financial institutions in Ghana.
In line with its mandate, GHIPSS has implemented and currently manages the National Switch and Biometric Smart Card Payment System, e-zwich and Cheque Codeline Clearing (CCC) as well as Automated Clearing House (GACH) systems plus the Ghana Instant Pay (GIP).
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