Short-term Investments Do Not Help The Economy's Growth

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has revealed that there are various economic advantages the country can get from the banking sector, which aren’t at present being realized.

As indicated by him, these remains undiscovered and leave the banking sector unimportant to the economy.

According to His Majesty, the banking industry currently prioritizes short-term investments for profit over private businesses that may require long-term investments.

“All the banks are now into buying and selling money. When people save, the banks sell and their profits come when they loan it to the government through Treasury bills. These are short-term investment activities that do not help the economy to grow. We have to look at how to go about this to make the banking sector relevant to the private sector. Else we will engage in buying and selling money for profit. To me yes you making a profit to pay your staff but it has no impact on the economy. Let’s figure out which sectors to expand.”

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II didn’t stop there. He also made the observation that banks avoid investing in agriculture, which is one of the most viable economic sectors, because it requires unattractive and unsustainable long-term investments.

“You often think agriculture will drain your capital because it demands long-term investment. However, it is the pivotal sector to help grow the economy. How then do we secure funds to undertake such long-term investments? We need to find out. Banking is enticing, the staff will put on their suits and wait for people to bring in their savings and then they invest for profit but in the longer term, how effective will that be in relation to developing the nation? We need to deliberate on it.”

As per Asantehene, banks are growing the country over, but they haven’t had much of an impact on making it easier to start businesses or finding jobs for the many young people without jobs.

“The new branch will attract money but realistically we are not seeing the impact here in terms of development… Ghana must be placed on a foot where she will be able to attract investment. FirstBank Ghana should be able to go out there to be able to attract long-term investment for such projects. If we do that, the economy will be put on a sound footing.”

“It’s not your fault… I acknowledge the challenges the banking sector is facing. Due to that, the banks are unable to undertake their mandate to help create jobs and employment.”

He called for a collaboration between players in the Banking sector, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Finance Minister to tackle the matter.

Asantehene Proposes A Collaborative Initiative With Citibank For Private Sector Growth

This was said by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II when FirstBank Ghana’s management paid him a courtesy call on Thursday, September 12, 2024, to officially inform him of the opening of their third branch in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, at Nhyiaeso.

“We thank Otumfuo for receiving us on his land to ply our business. We have two branches at Suame and Adum. We told His Majesty the last time that we would be setting up more. Tomorrow we will open our new branch at Nhyiaeso opposite Golden Bean. It’s a nice edifice,” the Managing Director for the bank, Victor Yaw Asante stated.

The Bank says it is ready to contribute towards Asanteman’s growth through banking.

Among the delegation that visited the Manhyia Palace on September 11, 2024, were the Managing Director, Victor Yaw Asante and the Non-Executive Director, Rosie Ebe-Arthur.