Daniel Owiredu
Report reaching DAILY GUIDE indicates that there is uneasy calm at the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) following revelations that the bank’s Board had authorised several huge loans without adequate collateral, leading to over-exposure of the financial institution.
The report says the Board, led by Daniel Owiredu, has succeeded in approving ‘uncollateralized’ loans to many business concerns, threatening the bank’s finances.
This is coming at a time most of the commercial banks are struggling to survive because of over-exposure, emanating from huge bad debts sitting in their balance sheets.
Checks indicate that if the unilateral action of the Board is not controlled, the foundations of most profitable indigenous banks may be threatened.
According to inside sources, conditions for issuing huge loans are being side-stepped, contrary to what is required by law and conventions, with only a few Board members arrogating to themselves the power to approve loans.
There is fear that these uncollaterised loans may end up as bad debts if adequate measures are not put in place to check the board.
The risk manager and the head of corporate banking are said to be neck-deep in the granting of the unauthorized loans, with the backing of some board members.
The risk manger, who was on annual leave, was immediately recalled in a very suspicious manner following the appointment of a new managing director.
Documents show that some individuals and corporate institutions, which have ‘less convincing collaterals,’ have been given huge loans, raising questions about due diligence conducted on such entities.
“The Board Chairman has practically taken over everything and he is virtually running one-man show with his few backers on the Board,” an angry staff revealed.
Mr Daniel M.A. Owiredu was appointed Board Chairman on October 22, 2014.
He was the past President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines and also Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Golden Star Resources Limited prior to his appointment to the GCB Board.