The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, has urged credit unions in the country to learn from the recent financial sector clean-up.

That, he pointed out, was necessary to avoid falling victim like some of the affected institutions and to improve on Ghana’s systems and capacity to deliver a world-class financial sector.

“A regulated activity means compliance with standard, rules and procedures. I want to suggest that you must be big on compliance as it is germane to the success of financial institutions.

“Ethical behaviour must take the front seat in the financial industry, and it is important to help people to become compliant by defining clearly, the standards of ethical behaviours, as well as introducing a regime of sanctions against unethical behaviour,” he said.

Biennial conference

Rev. Ogbarmey Tetteh was speaking at the biennial conference of the Ghana Co-operative Credit Unions Association (CUA) at Kasoa in the Central Region.

The association’s conference, a gathering of over 500 credit unions, was christened: “Sustenance in the Era of Financial Challenges, Our Roles as a Co-operative Credit Union”.

The Director-General of SEC further assured customers of the various collapsed financial institutions that they would receive their locked-up funds after the December 7 general election.

He added that the partial bailout intervention by the government was a sincere move to bring relief to the affected persons and not a political gimmick.

Even though he failed to give timelines, he insisted that government, the commission and other relevant institutions were committed to the bailout process, adding that “it is just a question of following due process”.

Be wary

The General Manager of CUA, Mr Emmanuel Coffie, entreated the public to be wary of fraudulent financial institutions which promised unreasonable returns on investments.

“And so if you are looking for a safe place to invest, I will recommend that you find the nearest credit union,” he said.

A private consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Pentax Management Consultancy Services Limited, Mr Bernard Joe Appeah, said he was most concerned about the regulations of credit unions in Ghana and questioned why the Legislative Instrument (LI2225) passed to regulate private societies had not been implemented.

He further commended CUA and other private societies for their active role in the growth of the financial industry in Ghana.

Commitment

The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, pledged government’s commitment to the development of co-operative credit unions and the financial sector as a whole.

In a statement read on his behalf, he revealed that the Co-operative Bill had been submitted to Cabinet and would soon be passed.

Source: Graphic.com.gh