Ofori-Atta Came To UT Bank Begging for a Loan Before It Was Collapsed – Kofi Amoabeng
CEO of defunct UT Bank, Captain Prince Kofi Amoabeng (Rtd) has disclosed that Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta once came to his bank to request for loan.
He however noted that Mr Ofori-Atta was not yet a minister as at the time he came asking for the loan.
Mr Amoabeng who has written a book titled ‘THE UT STORY’ said Mr. Ofori-Atta came to UT Financial Service “bearing their shares in Enterprise Insurance as collateral for a loan”.
In an exclusive interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’, Capt. Kofi Amoabeng(Rtd) authenticated the claim saying, “I don’t lie or you think they will say it’s untrue. It’s not just about me. I wasn’t personally giving out the loans. I had a system and a structure and institution that granted the loans, so my entire staff were aware. So, it wasn’t a situation of I took him to a room like it was done secretly. No! This is a UT Financial Services issue”.
He also said the government was left with little choice regarding the closure of his bank years ago.
According to him the bank was going through some problems and the government thought it was impossible for it to be bailed out.
“The truth is if the bank was fully functional, meeting all the capital requirements from its regulators, the government would not have closed down the bank. But the bank was going through problems and every business goes through problems; it doesn’t matter how big you are.
“It is the government that will decide to close it down because it is that bad or it should be bailed out because it is dear to the country; this is all government’s discretion on behalf of the people.
“For UT’s position, the government decided that where the problems of the bank had reached, it is impossible to bail the bank out, therefore, it needs to be closed down and so be it; it was closed down,” Prince Kofi Amoabeng explained.