The Collateral Registry of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has held a symposium at the Alisa Hotel in Accra as part of activities marking its 5th anniversary.

The event, which took place yesterday, was under the theme, ‘The Borrowers and Lenders Act 2008(Act 773) and the Collateral Registry, The Success Story.’

Michael Oppong-Adusah, Director and Registrar of Collateral Registry, said his outfit has lived up the expectation of the public.

He mentioned that the Registry had extended grace period for settlement and issuance of a certificate to lenders after full payment had been made.

Dr. Abdul Nashiru, Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BOG), said the programme could not have come at a better time given the growing concerns of the business community and general public about the short-term impact of the bank’s policy direction on access to credit by Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs).

He stated that with the attainment of macroeconomic stability, businesses could fully benefit from the long-term measures, and financial sector reforms the Bank, together with successive governments, have pursued over the years.

Dr. Nashiru further mentioned that the reforms have led to the establishment of the capital market, money market, banking sector, payment system and several non-bank financial institutions.

Ghana has a robust and diversified financial system which continues to attract attention not only on the continent, but globally. The legal and regulatory framework for the financial sector has also seen vigorous review with the passage of many important financial and banking laws, he indicated.

Dr. Nashiru noted that prior to the passage of Act 773 in December 2008, the Bank observed that the credit market was bedeviled with numerous problems which hampered access to credit by businesses particularly SMEs.

He said after several consultations with stakeholders which led to the drafting of and passage of the Borrowers and Lenders Law (Act773, 2008), a secure platform for transaction regime with defined legal framework for credit, improved standards of disclosure, transparency and speedy enforcement mechanisms was put in place.