The Bank of Ghana will formally direct banks in the country to recapitalise to GH¢400 million, equivalent to about US$100 million on Monday September 9.
The central bank will give the banks until December 2018 to raise the amount, which represents a 333.3 per cent increase from the current minimum capital of GH¢120 million.
According to Graphic Online, the Governor of BoG, Dr Ernest Addison, announced the figure to bank executives at a closed door meeting Friday.
Banks were last recapitalised in 2012, when the BoG asked them to raise their stated capital from GH¢60 million at the time to the current GH¢120 million.
That round of recapitalization led to the consolidation to three banks, The Trust Bank (into Ecobank), Intercontinental Bank (into Access Bank) and Amalgamated Bank (into Bank of Africa).
In August, this year, the licenses of UT and Capital banks were also revoked and portions of their assets and liabilities sold to GCB Bank.
It is expected that the new stated capital of GH¢400 million will further lead to consolidation in bank numbers.
Following the collapse of the two banks, the industry now has 31 banks, with additional three new licensees due to commerce operations by next year.