Depositors of collapsed microfinance, S&L companies to be paid by end of July

The Receiver of the collapsed microfinance companies, savings and loans, and finance houses, Mr Eric Nana Nipah, has assured all affected depositors whose claims have been validated that they would be paid their locked up investments by end of July 2020.

According to him, the total value of valid claims is GH₵5.4 billion and that about 96 per cent of depositors have been paid.

“For depositors, we have come a very long way and I have been able to determine that the depositor base in the three sets receiverships is in the region of GH₵5.4 billion by value of valid depositor claims…and out of that, I have been able to pay close to 96 per cent of these claims,” Mr Nipah said in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM.

He added that about 98 per cent of the claims will be paid in cash while the remaining two percent will be paid through a combination of cash and bond.

“I am on course to fully pay 98 per cent of all depositor claims by way of cash…The two per cent that remains are being paid through a combination of cash and commercial paper which we commonly refer to as bonds…Through the very effective and robust validation mechanism that I have put in place, I have been able to save the nation close to a billion cedis by way of robust and resilient validation processes,” he added.

Following the revocation of the licences of the 347 microfinance companies, 39 micro-credit institutions and 23 savings and loans companies, a validation of the affected customers commenced on November 18, 2019, with the aim of repayment.

As part of his mandate, Mr Nipah is to collaborate with Economic and Organised Crime Organisation (EOCO) to locate and recover the assets of the insolvent companies to auction and accrue funds for settlement.

He says the validation process has helped to identify an amount of GH₵400 million owed to the defunct companies by other companies.

Affected staff

Mr Nipah on Monday, July 13, commenced processes for the payment of outstanding salaries and exit packages to ex-staff of the collapsed 347 microfinance companies.

In a statement, the Receiver said the Bank of Ghana (BoG) had agreed to pre-finance the full settlement of employee related claims which otherwise rank as unsecured claims in the receiverships of these companies.

He added that he would only fully settle outstanding salaries and exit packages of former employees which have been duly validated, agreed and in the resolution process.