By Joshua Worlasi AMLANU
As part of efforts to reinforce the country’s financial safety net and improve payout readiness during institutional distress, the Ghana Deposit Protection Fund will undergo strategic changes, the Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, said Monday.
He said the fund will be diversified into gold, foreign exchange reserves, and high-grade sovereign securities to ensure both liquidity and value preservation.
Speaking at the inauguration of a new board for the Ghana Deposit Protection Corporation (GDPC), Governor outlined a set of reforms aimed at future-proofing the country’s deposit insurance framework, which he said must “evolve with the financial system it seeks to protect.”
At the centre of the fund reform agenda is a shift away from passive reserve accumulation to an active portfolio management approach. The new investment strategy will see the Deposit Protection Fund allocate resources across gold, FX reserves, high-grade sovereign bonds and supranational instruments to ensure both liquidity and value preservation.
The Corporation is also considering setting up emergency credit lines and formal backstop funding arrangements to ensure liquidity is available when needed.
“Our goal is to ensure that GDPC is always payout-ready—because in a crisis, timing is everything,” Dr. Asiama said.
The country operates a dual-fund deposit insurance system: Fund A covers commercial banks, while Fund B is meant to support Specialized Deposit-taking Institutions (SDIs) such as savings and loans companies and microfinance institutions. While Fund A is reported to be on track, Fund B remains undercapitalised.
“The vulnerabilities often lie with SDIs, and our response must be bold,” Dr. Asiama said, adding that premium collection would be accelerated to build up reserves in that segment.
The Governor also reiterated the importance of legislative reform to expand the Corporation’s mandate beyond reimbursement to include early intervention powers. This would move Ghana’s system closer to the “pay-box plus” model increasingly adopted internationally. Under this framework, deposit insurers are equipped to engage in resolution and crisis management rather than acting only after failures occur.
Parliament is expected to consider amendments to the Ghana Deposit Protection Act in the coming months.
In addition to financial and legal reforms, the new GDPC board will be expected to oversee a revised strategic plan post-2025 that aligns with international standards. This includes integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles, greater digitisation, and stronger cybersecurity protocols.
“From digital onboarding to real-time claims processing, the GDPC must meet depositors where they are—on their phones, in their communities, and in their languages,” the Governor said.
He also highlighted plans to institutionalise AI-based anomaly detection in SCV (Single Customer View) data and enforce compliance among financial institutions to ensure that depositor records are clean and current. “This is not just a technical issue, it is central to depositor trust,” he said.
Beyond infrastructure and systems, human capital will also be a key focus for the incoming board. Capacity building in risk-based resolution planning, digital forensics, cybersecurity, and global governance frameworks will be prioritised.
