The Institute of Directors – Ghana (IoD - GH) has applauded Republic Bank Ghana, for being the first in the industry to defer loan repayments by six months for its customers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bank, in a statement released on 26 March 2020, said the offer to its staff and customers of the bank, is available upon request and will last for a maximum period of six months.

In addition, the bank has also introduced automatic waivers until 30 June 2020 on excess fees and late fees on loan repayment.

The Managing Director of the bank, Mr Farid Antar, wrote in the statement released last week that they found this a necessary humanitarian move.

“As a bank with a heart, we recognise that these are critical times for everyone, with an expected high pressure on cashflows for both individuals and businesses. We have, therefore, taken a bold decision to offer a loan payment deferment option to our customers and staff. This, we believe, will cushion their cashflows in order to support them to take all precautionary measures needed to protect their families and themselves from the spread of the virus."

The President of the Institute of Directors - Ghana, Mr Rockson Kwesi Dogbegah, in a post on Republic Bank Ghana’s move, said the institute was impressed to find that the bank had gone ahead to be the first to announce such a relief to its customers.

“This is a really good initiative from the bank, and I hope all other banks are encouraged to do same. This shows ethical and effective leadership on their part and it is in these situations that organisations must walk the talk and demonstrate good corporate citizenship”.

Mr Dogbegah also stated how impressed he was with the donations made by the Association of Bankers since Ghana started recording COVID-19 cases.

“The Association of Bankers has also been so impressive in this period. They donated GHS10 million to the government toward the purchase of medical equipment for managing the COVID-19 pandemic and for public education. That is just great”

According to him, IoD - GH is also “mobilising resources to support the fight against the coronavirus and the restrictions it came with and we appeal to all corporate organiSations to do same in the best way they can”.