Gov’t bailout for BlackShield customers “positive first step” – Nduom

The Chairman of Groupe Nduom, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, has lauded government’s intervention to pay affected customers of Fund Management Companies (FMCs) whose licences were revoked.

Groupe Nduom’s Blackshield Fund Management Company Limited was one of the 53 companies affected and its customers have been demanding payment of their investments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a payment of up to GH¢50,000 to each customer on humanitarian grounds.

“We welcome this as a positive first step.  We will continue to work with the authorities to ensure that what is due to the customers is fully paid eventually, without regard to our company’s grievances,” Dr Nduom said in a Facebook post.

Dr Nduom said his firm was “sorry that our cherished clients have had to go through such pain”.

He expressed hope that the measure announced by SEC provides Blackshield customers with sufficient liquidity to meet financial obligations while “we continue to go through the important processes that are still underway”.

An initial bailout had covered some of the companies that were liquidated but Blackshield was excluded together with some other firms after they dragged SEC to court.

This partial bailout would cover a total of 92,460 claims filed against the remaining 27 Fund Management Companies, out of which Blackshield Fund Management Company Limited accounts for a tot Claims filed by individuals, including pensioners, is 86,506 with Gold Coast Fund Management Limited, now Blackshield Fund Management Company Limited, accounting for 80,018 (92.5%) of these claims.

“Based on the validated claims, the partial bailout being offered would result in 89% and 82% of affected individuals and pensioners being fully settled,” SEC said in a statement.

The partial bailout shall be channelled through the Amalgamated Fund Ghana Limited, the same Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) being used to pay the clients of the Fund Management Companies currently under official liquidation.

Amalgamated Fund Ghana Limited is managed by GCB Capital Limited, a subsidiary of GCB Bank Limited.

Background

The SEC, acting in accordance with Section 122 (2) (b) of the Securities Industry Act (SIA), 2016 (Act 929), revoked the licences of 53 FMCs on November 8, last year, as part of a general financial sector clean-up.

Eight of the firms appealed against the revocation decision to the Administrative Hearings Committee (AHC) but only three were successful.

Following the revocation of the licences, the SEC took certain actions to protect investors.

They included notifying the Registrar of Companies/Registrar-General to petition the court for orders to commence the official liquidation of the 53 FMCs under the relevant law, as well as the appointment of an agent to take copies of records and lock up premises to secure the assets of the affected companies.

It also mandated the agent to receive claims from the clients of the affected companies, acknowledge receipt of same and also validate the claims.

The Official Liquidator of the Fund Management Companies, the Registrar-General, started paying off an initial bailout for some of the customers whose claims had been validated.

However, no action could be taken for clients of Blackshield Capital Management Limited, Firstbanc Financial Services Limited, Apex Capital Partners and Ideal Capital Partners Limited.

The firms had filed applications in court to challenge the revocation of their licences by SEC.