Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said the cost of liquidating seven lenders has reached almost 13 billion cedis, up from the 8.5 billion cedis disclosed earlier in 2018, Joy Business reported.

The increase was attributed to the finance ministry issuing bonds and the Bank of Ghana providing liquidity support, he said.

The Bank of Ghana has previously said the failure of the banks, including uniBank (Ghana) Ltd. and Royal Bank Ltd., stemmed from poor corporate governance and failure to comply with regulations.

Akufo-Addo said additional measures have been introduced to bolster Ghana's financial system, such as the National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy, which is expected to increase the penetration of financial services to about 85% by 2023 from 58% in 2013.

As of Oct. 4, US$1 was equivalent to 4.88 Ghanaian cedis.