Record Details

The Institutional and Regulatory Framework of Co-operative Societies in Ghana: Implications for Credit Unions

International Journal of Cooperative Studies

View Archive Info
 
 
Field Value
 
Title The Institutional and Regulatory Framework of Co-operative Societies in Ghana: Implications for Credit Unions
 
Creator Anku-Tsede, Olivia; University of Ghana
Amankwaa, Albert; University of Ghana
 
Subject management, law, cooperative studies
Co-operative society, welfare, regulatory framework, credit unions, Ghana
 
Description Co-operative societies are financial institutions that focus on servicing the banking and lending needs of its members. They fall within the semi-regulated sector of the financial sector, where the state does not provide for stringent regulations. Co-operative societies promote the welfare of the communities where they operate and this holistically enhances development of all classes of people in these communities. As a microfinance unit, credit unions operating as co-operative societies have been of much interest to some developing governments, policy makers and their membership, particularly, the implications of the regulatory and institutional framework of credit unions for their financial sustainability. Whilst some have doubted whether as a microfinance unit, co-operative societies can help the poor and still remain sustainable, others have argued that such financial institutions are more likely to weather financial storms and effectively serve the poor in unstable economic countries. The purpose of the study therefore was to examine the regulatory and institutional framework of credit unions and its implication for growth. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. The results of the study showed that unlike other microfinance institutions, credit unions are regulated by various regulatory agencies, including the Registrar of Co-operative Societies and the Ghana Co-operatives Credit Unions Association (CUA). It also revealed that even though credit unions are able to meet the needs of the poor and low to middle income earners, there is an urgent need to review both the institutional and regulatory framework to ensure efficiency and financial sustainability of such credit unions.
 
Publisher World Scholars
 
Contributor —
 
Date 2015-11-09
 
Type Peer-reviewed Article
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier http://wscholars.com/index.php/ijcs/article/view/628
10.11634/216826311504628
 
Source International Journal of Cooperative Studies; Vol 4, No 2 (2015); 18-26
 
Language en
 
Rights Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher. The Editors reserve the right to edit or otherwise alter all contributions, but authors will receive proofs for approval before publication.World Scholars reserves the rights to retract any published manuscripts in the case of suspected plagiarism or any scientific misconducts. All requests for withdrawal of manuscripts before or after publishing will only be entertained if a formal written request is made to the editor of IJCS. Approvals for withdrawal of manuscripts wholly depends on the consideration of the editor and the editorial board of IJCS. No refunds for the manuscript publishing charges will be made in the event of withdrawal after the manuscript has been published.Copyrights for articles published in World Scholars journals are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.