The Bank of Ghana is receiving flak for allegedly directing commercial banks to take back money paid to investors who bought COCOBOD bonds The bonds matured on Thursday, January 19, 2023 and monies were paid in investors’ accounts accordingly However, on Friday, the banks rolled over the cash unilaterally, explaining that the central bank directed them to do so
It has emerged that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has, without explanation, asked commercial banks to take back payments made into accounts of COCOBOD bond investors. The banks paid the monies into the accounts of the investors on Thursday, January 19, 2023, the maturity date, but without fore notice withdrew it on Friday, January 20, 2023.
COCOBOD issued the bonds to raise the funds from investors, and was expected to mature on Thursday January 19, 2023. But just 24 hours after the money hit their accounts, investors were shocked to notice that the money that dropped into their accounts had been taken back.
Reports indicate that the banks say they had been directed by the regulator, the Bank of Ghana, to roll over the bonds without first seeking the approval of investors. The incident has been criticised as unprofessional and bizarre. Imani Africa’s Bright Simons tweeted on Friday that the incident has stunned the investor community. “Ghana’s under pressure Cocobod defaults on maturing debt obligations shocking capital market players. Industry insiders claim that Cocobod, the country’s cocoa exporting monopoly, has been told to apply their investments in the banking sector to settle creditors,” his tweet read.
