Ghana grants banks extension for reports filing

The Ghana Stock Exchange has approved an extension for financial reports filings to Access Bank Ghana, Ecobank Ghana, and others.

The extension was granted following a request by the Ghana Association of Banks on behalf of the listed banks for the filing of 2022 audited financial statements, which was now expected to be extended by one month to April 30, 2023.

According to the African market report, this would enable the eight banks to work effectively with their external auditors to achieve the audit objectives.

Other banks that received approval for extension include ADB, CalBank, GCB Bank, Royal Bank Ghana, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, and Societe Generale.

The Ghana Association of Bankers had indicated that their discussions on the Government of Ghana Debt Exchange programme currently ongoing, had affected the finalisation of financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, by external auditors of the banks.

In particular, the deliberations had implications for the assessment of expected credit losses and their impact on 2022 financial statements.

The GSE said it was against this background that the date for filing of 2022 audited financial statements was extended by one month to April 30, 2023.

It urged the banks that could conclude their audit in time after the ongoing discussions were encouraged to publish their audited financial statements within the existing statutory timeline.

Recall that the country had said it would not service debts including its Eurobonds, commercial loans, and most bilateral loans, calling the decision an ‘interim emergency measure’, while some bondholders criticised a lack of clarity in the decision.

Ghana obtained support from the multilateral lender, the International Monetary Fund of about $3bn late in 2022.