Banking fraud losses hit GH¢99m in 2024, staff involvement rises 33%

By Kingsley Webora TANKEH

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has revealed an unusual surge in banking fraud, with reported losses hitting GH¢99 million in 2024 alone – representing a 13 percent increase from the previous year.

Speaking at a customer reporting officer stakeholder engagement programme in Accra, Second Deputy Governor-Bank of Ghana ,Matilda Asante-Asiedu disclosed these figures and indicated that the surge was driven, in part, by a sharp 33 percent rise of staff involvement in fraudulent activities.

According to the recently published Fraud Report, the number of fraud cases climbed to 16,733 for 2024 – up from 15,865 in 2023. However, the most concerning trend, Mrs. Asante-Asiedu stressed, is the growing involvement of bank employees in fraudulent activities.

Cases of staff involvement jumped from 274 in 2023 to 365 in 2024, a trend she described as a “significant threat to the integrity and resilience of our banking system”.

“This alarming trend must be addressed decisively,” she told the hall full of consumer reporting officers, compliance officers and banking representatives. She charged them to reverse the trajectory through “vigilance, adherence to ethical standards and proactive enforcement of internal controls”.

Mrs. Asante-Asiedu highlighted a growing dissatisfaction among banking customers. The BoG reported a 6.9 percent year-on-year increase of complaints escalated to the central bank, rising from 695 in 2023 to 743 for 2024.

Mrs. Asante-Asiedu attributed this rise to a “lack of confidence in the resolution capabilities of the commercial banks”, which are supposed to be the first point of contact for customers.

She revealed that BoG continues to receive complaints that should have been resolved at the institutional level, which she said indicates eroded trust.

“When trust is broken and public confidence wanes, customers are left without adequate protection…. making them vulnerable,” she stated.

In response to these systemic challenges, Mrs. Asante-Asiedu announced the Bank of Ghana is undertaking a “comprehensive review” of its Consumer Recourse Mechanism to address “emerging gaps”.

She indicated that a key issue to be worked on is the growing number of customers seeking financial compensation for their troubles, a remedy which is not currently provided for in the existing framework.

“The absence of explicit provisions for compensation within the current legal and regulatory frameworks presents a significant constraint,” Mrs. Asante-Asiedu said. “This limitation narrows the scope of redress available, even in instances where such remedies may be justified.”

She revealed that BoG will be reaching out to industry players for input before finalising the revised framework, aiming to strengthen consumer protection.

She emphasided that the theme ‘Excellence in Service, Innovation in Delivery, Security in Practice’, couldn’t be timelier  – stressing that security is the digital banking era’s non-negotiable foundation.

“No amount of service excellence or technological advancement can compensate for a breach of trust,” she warned, urging banks to embed cybersecurity not just in infrastructure but as an “institutional culture”.

Concluding with a call to action, she said the banking system’s strength lies in its credibility. “Let this engagement serve not only as a forum for dialogue but also a springboard to action,” she encouraged.

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