Ghana's Development Finance Institutions : Review of Current Status and Principles for Reform

This study reviews the approach to development finance adopted by Ghana and takes stock of the current situation of development finance institutions (DFIs). The study then articulates a set of key principles relevant to Ghana reflecting internation...

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Main Author: World Bank Group
Format: Report
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/863391533059000127/Ghanas-development-finance-institutions-review-of-current-status-and-principles-for-reform
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30215
id okr-10986-30215
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-302152021-05-25T09:16:51Z Ghana's Development Finance Institutions : Review of Current Status and Principles for Reform World Bank Group SME FINANCE MICROFINANCE DEVELOPMENT FINANCE DEVELOPMENT BANKS EXPORT FINANCE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT INSTITUTIONS This study reviews the approach to development finance adopted by Ghana and takes stock of the current situation of development finance institutions (DFIs). The study then articulates a set of key principles relevant to Ghana reflecting international experience. The intention is to provide the basis for dialogue on new approaches to making Ghana’s policies and institutions more consistent with good practices in development finance. The study does not venture into detailed assessment of particular institutions due to the unavailability of required data for such an assessment. The paper primarily focuses on DFIs targeted toward the priority areas of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and non-traditional exports, which are relevant for access to finance and the financial inclusion agenda. Particular attention is paid to their targeting, cost-effectiveness, market distortions, and governance. A review of international experience with DFIs finds that cost-effectiveness tends to be greatest and market distortions lowest when development finance is provided on a wholesale basis through commercial financial institutions that bear the risk and are empowered to make loan decisions, based on well-defined and targeted eligibility criteria. Direct intervention by government in allocation and in setting interest rates tends to undermine sustainability, impact, and willingness of beneficiaries to repay funds that they perceive as politically motivated. Ghana’s approach to development was state-led in the post-Independence period through the mid-1960s, and highly interventionist during the 1970s and early 1980s, after a brief period of stabilization. Controls were gradually removed in the late 1980s, and financial policies were liberalized. During the period 1985-2006, the government and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) established a number of institutions to promote and finance MSMEs and exports, especially in agricultural value chains. While the majority operate through private financial institutions, some of these institutions provide finance directly, increasing the cost and risks and reducing effectiveness. Although some of these institutions managed or benefited from donor-supported government projects in the past, little such funding remains available, especially for MSMEs, resulting in low cost-effectiveness and sustainability for some DFIs. Several institutions have come to depend largely on funds from the Export Trade, Agricultural and Industrial Development Fund (EDAIF), which is funded through a levy on imports. However, an interest rate cap of 12.5 percent is imposed on funding provided by EDAIF, which is well below market rates and tends to result in rent-seeking, long delays while applications are vetted, and lack of interest by commercial financial institutions whose earnings are constrained by the interest rate cap. 2018-08-14T21:32:56Z 2018-08-14T21:32:56Z 2016-10 Report http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/863391533059000127/Ghanas-development-finance-institutions-review-of-current-status-and-principles-for-reform http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30215 English CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Economic & Sector Work :: Other Financial Sector Study Economic & Sector Work Africa Ghana
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic SME FINANCE
MICROFINANCE
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE
DEVELOPMENT BANKS
EXPORT FINANCE
INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT
INSTITUTIONS
spellingShingle SME FINANCE
MICROFINANCE
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE
DEVELOPMENT BANKS
EXPORT FINANCE
INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT
INSTITUTIONS
World Bank Group
Ghana's Development Finance Institutions : Review of Current Status and Principles for Reform
geographic_facet Africa
Ghana
description This study reviews the approach to development finance adopted by Ghana and takes stock of the current situation of development finance institutions (DFIs). The study then articulates a set of key principles relevant to Ghana reflecting international experience. The intention is to provide the basis for dialogue on new approaches to making Ghana’s policies and institutions more consistent with good practices in development finance. The study does not venture into detailed assessment of particular institutions due to the unavailability of required data for such an assessment. The paper primarily focuses on DFIs targeted toward the priority areas of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and non-traditional exports, which are relevant for access to finance and the financial inclusion agenda. Particular attention is paid to their targeting, cost-effectiveness, market distortions, and governance. A review of international experience with DFIs finds that cost-effectiveness tends to be greatest and market distortions lowest when development finance is provided on a wholesale basis through commercial financial institutions that bear the risk and are empowered to make loan decisions, based on well-defined and targeted eligibility criteria. Direct intervention by government in allocation and in setting interest rates tends to undermine sustainability, impact, and willingness of beneficiaries to repay funds that they perceive as politically motivated. Ghana’s approach to development was state-led in the post-Independence period through the mid-1960s, and highly interventionist during the 1970s and early 1980s, after a brief period of stabilization. Controls were gradually removed in the late 1980s, and financial policies were liberalized. During the period 1985-2006, the government and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) established a number of institutions to promote and finance MSMEs and exports, especially in agricultural value chains. While the majority operate through private financial institutions, some of these institutions provide finance directly, increasing the cost and risks and reducing effectiveness. Although some of these institutions managed or benefited from donor-supported government projects in the past, little such funding remains available, especially for MSMEs, resulting in low cost-effectiveness and sustainability for some DFIs. Several institutions have come to depend largely on funds from the Export Trade, Agricultural and Industrial Development Fund (EDAIF), which is funded through a levy on imports. However, an interest rate cap of 12.5 percent is imposed on funding provided by EDAIF, which is well below market rates and tends to result in rent-seeking, long delays while applications are vetted, and lack of interest by commercial financial institutions whose earnings are constrained by the interest rate cap.
format Report
author World Bank Group
author_facet World Bank Group
author_sort World Bank Group
title Ghana's Development Finance Institutions : Review of Current Status and Principles for Reform
title_short Ghana's Development Finance Institutions : Review of Current Status and Principles for Reform
title_full Ghana's Development Finance Institutions : Review of Current Status and Principles for Reform
title_fullStr Ghana's Development Finance Institutions : Review of Current Status and Principles for Reform
title_full_unstemmed Ghana's Development Finance Institutions : Review of Current Status and Principles for Reform
title_sort ghana's development finance institutions : review of current status and principles for reform
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2018
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/863391533059000127/Ghanas-development-finance-institutions-review-of-current-status-and-principles-for-reform
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30215
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