President of the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB), John Awuah, has disclosed that nearly 70% of medical doctors who access loans from local banks fail to repay after migrating abroad.
He described the trend as deeply troubling for the banking sector, particularly because doctors are widely perceived as trustworthy and responsible professionals.
“Let me tell you, we have heard of doctors. These are on the moral pecking order. When you see a medical doctor, you almost 100% assume that they are not fallible. They don’t make mistakes, and things like borrowing and repayment will come to them naturally,” he said.
He explained that many doctors take personal loans—often ranging between GH¢120,000 and GH¢150,000—and then leave the country to work abroad without settling their debts.
“The bank will not ask exactly what you are going to buy since it is a personal loan. They take the loan, secure a visa, and then leave, abandoning the debt. About 70% of them are not paying,” Mr Awuah revealed.
He added that although these doctors are gainfully employed overseas, most do not make any effort to clear their outstanding obligations.
“Wherever they are going, they are working and earning, and one would think that as medical practitioners, they would just say, ‘I have a liability in Ghana that helped me travel; let me settle it.’ But that is not the case,” he lamented.
Mr Awuah expressed disappointment that such conduct is coming from individuals held in high esteem.
“These are medical doctors, people we hold in high regard. It got to a point where we even considered writing to embassies to request that visa applicants secure clearance from banks before their processes go through,” he disclosed.
The Ghana Association of Banks, he said, is now engaging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to tackle the issue through diplomatic channels.
“There are processes we are going through with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact the diplomatic corps, since you don’t just wake up and write to them. We’ve already started — there’s a letter lodged at the Ministry, which is trying to achieve that, but that is a reactive mechanism,” he explained.
Mr Awuah urged professionals, especially those seeking opportunities abroad, to honour their financial commitments, stressing that such defaults undermine the integrity of Ghana’s banking system and erode confidence in borrowers.
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