Abstract:
In spite of plethora of evidence endorsing the significance of financial sector
development which includes capital markets and the banking sector in the developing
economies, usage of financial services is skewed towards the rich individuals and
those who are already better off, neglecting the poor and those who are in the remote
areas. Using the Ghana Living Standard Survey Round Six (6) data, focused on four
main research objectives. This study adopted the descriptive and exploratory research
design and the estimation of data using the probit model, the study revealed that
religious affiliation, educational level, age, marital status, sex and hours worked
significantly influence the likelihood of owning bank account in Ghana. The study
revealed that majority of the respondents that were excluded from the banking sector
were as a result of poverty or financial difficulties and less than 2 percent are
involuntarily excluded from formal banking services. The findings again showed that
majority of the respondents applied for loans for business, followed by consumption,
education and agricultural activities. Lastly, majority of the respondents were refused
loans because they were unable to provide collateral security, followed by inability to
get a guarantor, low salary and inappropriate purpose of loans. The researcher
recommend that, Ghanaian authorities should promote the ownership of formal bank
account by dismantling challenges associated with gender, education and income
level. Also, policy makers should formulate policies that can transform the economy
to boost production and improve income level of its citizens. Management of bank
institutions should from time to time promote community education in order to
provide the necessary information to individual household in order to broaden the
knowledge and understanding of individual related to their operations.
Description:
dissertation in the School of Business, Department of Accounting,
Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Business Administration
(Accounting)
in the University of Education, Winneba
OCTOBER, 2021