The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has issued a warning to banks, urging them to adhere to its monthly report on fraud cases.
This measure is intended to assist the regulator in consolidating efforts to track fraudulent activities within the financial sector.
Head of Financial Stability at the BoG, Dr. Kwasi Osei Yeboah, emphasized the bank’s commitment to collaborating with all financial sector players to cleanse the sector of fraudulent activities.
He made these remarks at a workshop on Committee for Cooperation between Law Enforcement Agencies and the Banking Community.
Dr. Yeboah stressed the importance of a collaborative effort from all stakeholders in addressing the issue of fraud in the financial sector.
“This may be a hindrance to promote financial soundness and integrity because without that, people will not feel free to participate in product and services within the financial space”, he said.
“Banks are supposed to report all the fraud case to the Bank of Ghana even when nothing happens. They still have to do it. For us, even if one fraud occurs, it is important to us because it speaks to the concerns that the consumer will have for the financial sector”, he added.
The Bank of Ghana’s fraud report for 2023 revealed that the total loss value recorded by Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) in 2022 was approximately GH¢56 million, compared to approximately GH¢61 million in 2021, indicating a 7.88% decrease from 2021.
The report also indicated that there were 2,998 attempted fraud cases in the banking and SDI sectors in 2022, compared to 2,347 cases in 2021, representing a 27.74% increase.
On his part, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks, John Awuah, has advocated for a clear-cut approach to addressing fraud-related cases within the financial sector.
“As we are moving a number of our operations to those platforms, confidence is very key in such cases on the part of our customers. As an association, we need a clear cut mechanism to get fraudsters apprehended because even one fraud is dangerous to the sector”, he stated.