Ghana: Bank rewards customers with gold bars and coins

Ghana’s largest local financial institution – Fidelity Bank – has rewarded more than 100 customers with several kilogrammes of gold bars and coins in a national drive to woo customers and inspire savings culture among people according to reports.

The bank’s campaign has been praised by the government since Ghana is said to have one of the lowest saving ratio in sub-Sahara Africa with an average of 8 – 12 percent as compared to an average of 25 percent in the region.

“This is an impediment to rapid economic growth and development, our ability to increase the savings rate depends on many factors with the most important being development of new savings products,” deputy Finance Minister, Mona Helen Quartey said

The West African nation has faced challenges of low levels of savings that have held it back from developing even further. According to the Minister, a culture of saving could support high levels of investment to help the country achieve higher economic growth.

“Domestic resource mobilisation has become very important in how we finance our sustainable development goals, how we finance the African Union agenda 2063 and even more importantly how we finance our own 40-year long term national development plan.” Said the Finance Minister
Ghana is poised for growth giving financial institutions the opportunity to expand their services and reduce their cost.

Fidelity Bank ended its ‘Save for Gold’ promotion after five months of actively promoting savings, at a plush gold themed event at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra on 8th July, 2016