The Effect of Financial Restructuring on the Degree of Competition in the Banking Industry of Ghana

The Effect of Financial Restructuring on the Degree of Competition in the Banking Industry of Ghana
Author: George Owusu-Antwi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:

A major financial sector reform program has been implemented in Ghana since the early 1980s, involving financial liberalization and institutional reforms. Financial reforms became necessary, because the pre-reform policies together with acute and prolonged economic crisis had severely damaged the financial system. In the early 1990s, the government launched financial market liberalization policies under the financial sector adjustment program to restructure the distressed banks and clean up nonperforming assets in order to restore banks to profitability and viability. The study investigated the market structure of Ghana's banking industry and determined whether the market structure has been changed after the financial restructuring. This study specifically measures the degree of competition of the banking system in Ghana by using the H-statistic. Various studies on the degree of competition were reviewed. This study employs a widely used nonstructural methodology put forward by Panzar and Rosse (1987)---the H-statistic---and draws upon comprehensive average annual data from the various issues of the Bank of Ghana annual reports from 1988 to 2008. Maximum likelihood techniques were used to estimate the model. Based on the reported H-statistic for pre and postliberalization (2.35657 and 3.27530 respectively), it can be concluded that Ghana's banks are operating under perfect competition. However, the test for a change in competition status at the time of liberalization was not significant, indicating no evidence of a change in competition as a result of liberalization. The result of the market equilibrium reveals that the market equilibrium equals zero, revealing the existence of long-run equilibrium making the Panzar and Rosse model meaningful to interpret. The findings are consistent with the results obtained by Yuan (2006) who found Chinese banking market to be near perfect competition. This study has extended and strengthened some earlier results on bank competition in Ghana. However, the results of this study are different from the study undertaken by Buchs and Mathisen (2005), who found Ghanaian banking markets to operate under monopolistic conditions without considering the effect of liberalization. Three innovations of the current study are the use of comprehensive data source, the consideration of longer period of time covering two decades (1988--2008) and the incorporation of liberalization factors. Overall, the Panzar and Rosse model is regarded as a valuable tool for assessing the banking market conditions in Ghana. Since a bank's revenue is more likely to be observable than output prices and quantities or actual costs.

Financial Sector Development in Ghana

Financial Sector Development in Ghana
Author: James Atta Peprah
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2023-01-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3031093453

This book investigates factors that contribute to the development of an efficient financial sector in Ghana. While sustainable finance has long been known to propel economic growth and development, and while many African countries have taken initiatives to develop integrated frameworks of their financial sectors that tackle developmental challenges, scholars and policymakers have always grappled with understanding of factors that enhance performance of the financial sector. In this book, an expert team of authors examines the financial landscape, central bank policies, competition, financial innovation, financial inclusion and banking stability in Ghana, while also exploring how financing models such as enterprise finance and microfinance can be more effective in sustaining financial markets. The authors discuss how Ghana can build fortified institutions, regulatory frameworks, and productive capacity to strengthen the financial sector and foster pathways that will enhance economic development. Empirical and scientific evidence give this book a unique approach that is both qualitative and quantitative.

Competition and Efficiency in Banking

Competition and Efficiency in Banking
Author: Mr.Johan Mathisen
Publisher: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2005-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781451860368

This paper assesses the degree of bank competition and discusses efficiency with regard to banks' financial intermediation in Ghana. By applying panel data to variables derived from a theoretical model, we find evidence for a noncompetitive market structure in the Ghanaian banking system, which may be hampering financial intermediation. We argue that the structure, as well as the other market characteristics, constitutes an indirect barrier to entry thereby shielding the large profits in the Ghanaian banking system.

Interest Rate Liberalization

Interest Rate Liberalization
Author: Mr.Bart Turtelboom
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 46
Release: 1991-12-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1451939183

This paper undertakes a survey of theoretical considerations and an analysis of the experience of five African countries with interest rate liberalization. Despite substantial progress in monetary policy reforms, liberalization has only partially affected the level and variability of interest rates. Several factors—macroeconomic instability, oligopolistic financial markets, the absence of developed capital markets, as well as the sequencing of the liberalization programs and the asymmetric availability of information—explain the increase in the spread between lending and deposit rates as well as the rather inflexible pattern of interest rates during the transition to a market-based financial system.

Banking Regulatory and Market Framework in Ghana

Banking Regulatory and Market Framework in Ghana
Author: John MacCarthy
Publisher:
Total Pages: 10
Release: 2016
Genre:
ISBN:

The purpose of this paper is to review the several reforms and regulations that were passed during and after the economy liberalization in the banking sector of Ghana and to assess whether there is adequate regulations that can protect private capital and the financial sector of Ghana. Bank of Ghana was mandated to carry out regulatory and supervisory function of the banking sector of Ghana and to institute necessary reforms that would protect the financial sector in Ghana. Some of the notable regulations that were passed in recent times in order to be abreast with the global changes included: Credit referencing bureau, Liquidity from capital injection, Basel II, Cheque clearing cycle. The study is a qualitative research involving content analysis and it employed purposive sampling methodology to selects key persons with the knowledge and expertise to contribute to the study. This study delve into details and in-depth into the banking sector of the Ghana. The paper revealed that the reforms and regulation introduced by the Bank of Ghana has contributed immersely to the social-economic development of Ghana and assessed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the financial sector. The study professed some recommendations that would ensure that the Bank of Ghana continues to ensure a sound, competitive and efficient financial system in Ghana.

Financialisation and Poverty Alleviation in Ghana

Financialisation and Poverty Alleviation in Ghana
Author: Francis Boateng Frimpong
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2021-11-22
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9004500022

Francis Frimpong argues that the exponential growth of finance and credit infrastructures in Ghana did not alleviate poverty in the country. It has, however, resulted in rising financial profits, financialising poverty and stagnating the real sector of the economy

Market Power, Efficiency and Welfare Performance of Banks : Evidence from the Ghanaian Banking Industry

Market Power, Efficiency and Welfare Performance of Banks : Evidence from the Ghanaian Banking Industry
Author: David Adeabah
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2019
Genre:
ISBN:

The study analyses the welfare performance of banks' lending services in the Ghanaian banking industry with emphasis on the role of market power and efficiency. We made use of pooled OLS regression with fixed effect model. For robustness, we adopted Prais-Winsten (1954) regression and two-stage least squares (2SLS) instrumental variables procedures on an unbalanced panel data of 24 banks for years 2009 through 2017. The results reveal that during our study period, there was a welfare loss of about 0.433 percent of observed total loans. Encouragingly, cost efficiency in the banking system fits well within the world's mean efficiency but has been decreasing over time. Further, there is evidence that prices have not moved toward a competitive level. Cost efficiency estimates are found to be negatively associated with loss of consumer surplus estimates. Market power is found to be positively related to a loss in consumer surplus. Additional analysis shows that the market power effect is dominant in both domestic and large banks. Overall, the results indicate that market power and bank efficiency are competing interests for policymakers in their consideration of policy reforms geared toward an efficient and well-functioning banking system. An additional implication of these results suggests that antitrust enforcement may be socially beneficial to provide an incentive for competitive pricing in the lending business segment of banking. Other implications are also discussed.