Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta said the Development Bank Ghana will begin operations in July 2021
•A list of board members have been submitted to the Bank of Ghana for approval to kickstart the operations of the Development Bank Ghana
•The bank is expected to commence operations by the end of July
•Government in May this year secured a €170 million loan for the establishment of the Bank
The Ministry of Finance has submitted a list of board members to the Bank of Ghana for approval as part of the processes to kickstart the operations of the Development Bank Ghana.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the board members when approved will pave the way for the Bank to commence its full operations which is expected to take place by the end of July this year.
Director of Financial Services at the Finance Ministry, Samson Akligoh had earlier assured the establishment of the Development Bank Ghana will complement the capacity of the Agriculture Development Bank (ADB).
Plans to establish the DBG commenced after Ghana secured a €170 million loan facility from the European Commission back in May this year.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta interacting with journalists after the signing of the agreement explained the loan secured was to be paid in some 15 years.
He said the facility comes with one of the lowest interest rates of 0.5 percent with a 5-year moratorium.
“This is a facility with one of the lowest interest rates of just half a zero percent with a maturity period of 15 to 20 years with a five-year moratorium given to us. The essence of this is to ensure that institutions are able to borrow on their own credit history and balance sheet without further burden on the central government” he said.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on his part has also assured that the funds will be used for its intended purposes.
Speaking after a signing ceremony for the establishment of the bank in Belgium back in May, the president pointed that the bank when operational will satisfy the highest standards, scrutiny and best practices of Development Banks across the world.
The Development Bank Ghana will serve as a wholesale entity that will offer guarantee investment instruments in order to woo in universal banks to lend to critical growth sectors.