ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
Among other things:  Our investments in payments infrastructure through our subsidiary GhIPSS ensures interoperability in the delivery of DFS;  We have licensed a considerable number of Fintechs to partner with banks and other regulated financial institutions to encourage innovation in DFS for all segments of our economy including women;  Our tailored regulatory requirements such as our eKYC rules allows more women to open mobile money accounts and transact DFS using their mobile wallets, and our support for the use of the Ghana Card for all banking services (including DFS) will go a long way to expand more access to financial products such as loans for women; 8  Our financial literacy programmes and our oversight of customer complaints against their financial services providers also help to promote the responsible use of DFS and promoted trust in the use of DFS;  We continue to enhance our market-oriented mechanisms to support the delivery of credit on a sustainable basis to businesses, including women -owned MSMEs.
These include ongoing enhancements to the credit bureau-based reporting system that ensures that banks and other licensed lenders price credit appropriately to take account of borrowers’ credit bahaviour.
As women are generally known to be prudent borrowers, this system should benefit them in terms of the cost of credit facilities.
Also, the Bank of Ghana’s Collateral Registry registers all collateral (over movable and immovabl e assets) provided by borrowers to licensed creditors and facilitates the delivery of credit to borrowers (especially women) who might not have access to immovable asset collateral.
 We continue to monitor the extent to which banks are implementing the Sustainable Banking Principles that Bank of Ghana launched in November 2019 which among other things calls for banks to promote gender equity and financial inclusion.
By this, we expect banks to promote gender diversity and equity in their human capital management and to have adequate female representation at all levels including building a pipeline of qualified and experienced high - performing female leaders.
Likewise, we expect them to not only promote financial inclusion in their product and service delivery but also to ensure that the gender gap in access to finance is closed.
There is sufficient evidence that the presence of women in banks’ Boards of Directors and key management positions helps to promote access to finance for women.
 We have rolled ou t sex-disaggregated measurement indicators and collection tools that will be critical for understanding supply and demand side factors affecting gender inclusive finance, and which will help in recalibrating our policy and regulatory interventions as needed.
A lot remains to be done, however, to close the gap in access to finance (including digitally) for women as they seek new opportunities to fully participate in the fast-evolving digital economy.
 Firstly, it will take all stakeholders getting on board in a coordinated fashion to address all barriers that perpetrate the gender gap in financial inclusion and economic empowerment for women.
Effective collaboration between the public and private sector s, civil society, and development partners is essential , and must be consistent and sustained until satisfactory results are realized.
Empowering women should not be a charitable cause that one occasionally looks at to do some good and to check off boxes.
It should be at the heart of public policy making and corporate strategies.
 Secondly, financial and digital literacy programmes must be designed specifically for women and girls and consistently rolled out in ways that are easily accessible to help demystify formal financial services in general and digital financial services in particular.
 Thirdly, digital financial services must be more widely available and designed with more women in mind to ensure that their unique needs are met.
Too often products and services offered to 9 women are not designed with sufficient understanding of the diverse needs of women across all the various segments of the women market, be it informal versus formal sector, and micro, small, medium, and large, and across various sectors.
 Fourthly, a lot is required on the side of women too.
They must understand various financing options available to them – such as savings or investment options, loans from banks and other licensed financial services providers, insurance to help manage their financial risks, and pensions, among other things – to meet different financial needs at various stages of their businesses.
They must also embrace digital financial serv ices to help formalise payments for their goods and services so as to help them build the relevant banking history needed to access critical financing for their businesses.
Also, they need to understand what is required for them to access financial services to start and grow their businesses.
Good governance, good financial management, compliance with regulatory and technical standards, among others , are all critical to help businesses access digital financial services on a sustainable basis as digital financial services providers are businesses too and need to manage their risks effectively to stay in business.
 Last but not least, p olicy makers and regulators must be intentional about designing and implementing gender-specific interventions – based on reliable sex-disaggregated data – to design interventions that help remove barriers that women face in accessing DFS, particularly interventions that promote availability, affordability, transparency and fair pricing, and integrity, in the DFS market.
In conclusion, I recall the stories of Abiba and Asantewaa.
May it not be long after now (and certainly nowhere near 257 years), that generations of girls after them grow up in a Ghana where they do not only dream, but believe, and see, that there are no limits to who or what they could become and achieve for themselves and for the world.
We all have the opportunity now to make that happen!
I wish us all fruitful deliberations today that lead to tangible progress in breaking the biases and other barriers that hinder women’s full participation in the digital economy.
Permit me once again to recognize the tireless efforts of the UNCDF, the UN’s Better Than Cash Alliance and other partners to wards promoting sustainable interventions that prioritise wom en’s socio-economic empowerment.
The Bank of Ghana looks forward to continued collaboration going forward.
God bless women, God bless the men who stand with women, and God bless us all.
COMMISSIONING OF THE REPUBLIC BANK GHANA LIMITED HEAD OFFICE ANNEX, RIDGE BRANCH REMARKS BY DR.
ERNEST ADDISON GOVERNOR, BANK OF GHANA JANUARY 28, 2022 1 Senior Presidential Advisor, Hon.
Yaw Osafo-Marfo The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Hon.
Henry Quartey Board of Directors, Managing Director , Key Management Personnel and Staff of Republic Bank Ghana Limited Cherished Clients of the Bank Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen 1.
Thank you very much for the invitation to give a few remarks at the commissioning of this edifice which houses the Republic Bank Head Office Annex.
Since entering the banking sector in Ghana, Republic Bank has distinguished itself as a bank with a mission to implement sound policies and provide personalised, efficient, and competitively- priced financial services to the benefit of customers, staff, shareholders and the various communities where its branches are situated.
The opening of this Head Office Annex attests to the bank’s successful expansion strategy and the Bank of Ghana applauds the continuous growth and development of the bank.
The Republic Bank acquired HFC Ghana as part of the Bank’s International Expansion Strategy in 2013.
The acquisition was the largest single investment by a diaspora company back into Africa and it was seen to signify the adding of value by the Af rican diaspora to the motherland.
The HFC Bank started as an indigenous limited liability company in 1990, the first to be licensed as a mortgage financing institution.
It received a universal banking licence in 2003 .
The Bank received regulatory approval in May 2015 to become a subsidiary of Republic Financial Holdings Limited and a member of the Republic Bank Group.
In 2018, approval was granted for a change in name to Republic Bank Ghana Limited.
The Bank has been instrumental in the development of the mortgage industry and continues to play a leading role in the mortgage sector in the country.
It is therefore not surprising that Republic Bank was shortlisted as one of the three Banks to partner the National Housing and Mortgage Fund to deliver on Government’s affordable housing project.
The Bank of Ghana applauds this laudable partnership to provide affordable housing for public sector workers through cedi mortgages.
Chairman, it has been almost two years since the comprehensive reforms to restore credibility and c onfidence in the banking system .
Since then, the Bank of Ghana has issued a number of directiv es, including the exposure draft of the Corporate Governance Disclosure Requirements which seeks to promote and enhance transparency and accountability to stakeholders.
The Bank of Ghana continues to keenly monitor all banks to ensure the stability and soundness of the industry.
In reference to Republic Bank, c omparative performance indicators based on the bank’s prudential returns show significant growth in assets and deposits , notwithstanding the challenging economic impact of the COVID -19 pandemic.
The bank recorded strong deposit growth of 15.6 percent in the last quarter of 2021 due to the enhanced mobilization strategy.
Total Assets also grew by 71.7 percent over the same review period, and the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 23.7 was above the regulatory requirement as at end - December 2021.
Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, with the current advancement in technology and growth of fintechs in the financial service space, we 4 encourage the Republic Bank Ghana to keep pace with the shift towards electronic-driven products and services.
In line with the objective of customer centralism, we expect that financial digitisation will shape the banking business to compete with the fintechs in the payment systems space.
Hence, there is the need for adoption and diffusion of technology in every sphere of banking sector operations.
Increasingly, the banking sector has witnessed the increased usage of online banking as customers resort to branchless banking for transactions.
Banks have also been compelled to increase investments and upgrades of digital platforms to remain competitive.
These positive developments to broaden the scope of financial services, digitisation and the shift to virtual platforms have come with inherent cyber risks which banks need to work assiduously to mitigate.
BOG has provided the supportive directives, regulations, policies and guidelines on Cyber Security to safeguard the financial sector against such risks, but banks must also be proactive and strengthen internal risk management frameworks, as well as build a robust and secure digital infrastructure to forestall cybercrime incidences.
It is also essential that comprehensive and stringent KYC procedures are 5 implemented to improve banks’ customer acceptance policy .
These will help prevent susp icious customers from pursuing fraudulent activities, including money laundering, terrorist financing and credit fraud, through the banking sector.
Let me remind the management team of the vision of the Holding Company to use the acquisition in Ghana as a platform to launch their international expansion strategy in Africa.
Ghana currently houses the headquarters of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area and it provides good opportunity to see the Republic Bank venture into other countries on the continent.
On this note, Mr.
Chairman, let me once again congratulate Management and staff of the Republic Bank Ghana Limited, on this milestone to reinforce the bank’s footprint in the industry.
Mr Chairman, the Bank of Ghana will continue to create an enabling environment within which banks can efficiently carry out their role of financial intermediation to accelerate economic growth and development.
OPENING REMARKS BY MRS ELSIE ADDO AWADZI, SECOND DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF THE BANK OF GHANA , AT THE BANK OF GHANA/BANK OF ENGLAND REGIONAL EVENT HELD FROM 13-15TH DECEMBER 2021 ON THE THEME , “MICROPRUDENTIAL SUPERVISION OF CREDIT RISK” Her Excellency Harriet Thompson, British High Commissioner to Ghana Officials from the Bank of England Centre for Central Banking Studies and the P rudential Regulatory Authority Colleagues from the Bank of Ghana, participating African Central Banks , and regional institutions A very good morning, and welcome or Akwaaba as we say in Ghana!
The Bank of Ghana is most honoured to co-host this regional event in collaboration with the Bank of England.
We are thankful to the Bank of England and the Government of the United Kingdom for their continued technical support for us at the Bank of Ghana over the past three years.
The Bank of England /Bank of Ghana technical cooperation has involved several high- quality training programmes delivered by staff of the Bank of England for staff of the Bank of Ghana on a wide range of critical topics including macroeconomic forecasting, macroprudential oversight, microprudential supervision, crisis management and resolution of failed institutions, among others.
This week’s event is the third Microprudential Supervision training event in a row that has been extended to staff of sister Central Banks in Africa.
We are grateful to the Bank of England for appreciating how important these regional events are in supporting the Bank of Ghana’s efforts to strengthen cross -border supervisory cooperation in the region.
Indeed, these regional events help to build the supervisory capacity of Central Banks in the region through peer learning, and help us find cutting -edge solutions to supervisory concerns that are common to us, particularly as we strive to promote more effective regulation and supervision of Pan-African banks that operate in several African countries and beyond.
The theme for this three-day event – Microprudential Supervision of Credit Risk – has always been critical in promoting the safety, soundness, and r esilience of the banking sector .
A number of factors account for high credit risk faced by banks in Africa.
These include poor credit underwriting standards by some banks, weak credit market infrastructure such as credit reporting systems , challenges in loan enforcement in the face of defaults , and macroeconomic challenges that impact the real sector, among others.
As the pandemic rages on, banks face heightened credit risk as depicted in rising non - performing loan ratios and this is of great concern to banks, supervisors, and macroeconomic policy makers.
What is more, the full extent of banks’ credit risk cannot be assessed with any high degree of certainty given the uncertain economic outlook in the midst of the pandemic and the fact that many reliefs grante d by banks to borrowers at the onset of the pandemic remain in force .
The impact of the pandemic on supervisors’ ability to conduct on -site examination of banks is another key concern, given the limitations of off -site loan book reviews.
This regional training event therefore provides a great opportunity for bank supervisors in Africa to discuss common challenges and identify common solutions that work for our region, while learning from some of the experiences of the Bank of England and o ther advanced Supervisory Authorities.
On the part of Ghana, the Bank of Ghana’s banking sector reforms over the last several years have helped to cushion banks somewhat against the impact of the pandemic.
Following an Asset Quality Review conducted by th e Bank of Ghana in 2015/16 which unearthed significantly impaired assets and insolvency in the banking system, the Bank of Ghana resolved nine banks from August 2017 through January 2019 without causing upheavals in the system .
A mandated recapi talisation exercise, the implementation of the Capital Requirement under Pillar 1 of Basel II/III , and the adoption of IFRS 9’s Expected Credit Loss computation by banks from 2018/2019 enabled the banking system to rebuild adequate capital buffers that positioned banks to better withstand the economic shock from the pandemic.
As we look ahead in an uncertain economic future, it is my hope that the peer learning from this training event will help supervisors in Africa to improve the quality of microprudential supervision of banks’ credit risk, and help to better promote the stability and resilience of Africa’s banking system.
On behalf of Governor Ernest Addison and the entire m anagement team of the Bank of Ghana, I once again say Akwaaba to our colleagues from the 16 African Central Banks and two regional institutions (WAMI and WAIFEM) participating in this training programme.
I again thank the Bank of England and the Government of the United Kingdom for their very generous support for the Bank of Ghana and the region as a whole , and wish everyone a fruitful webinar.
2021 ANNUAL BANKERS WEEK DINNER OF THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF BANKERS KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY DR.
ERNEST ADDISON GOVERNOR, BANK OF GHANA December 11, 2021 2 President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIB), Members of the Governing Council of CIB, Chief Executive Officers of Banks, Associates and Fellows of CIB, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, 1.
All too soon 2021 is coming to an end; it has been a very eventful year with all the challenges and opportunities.
It is a pleasure to join the banking fraternity at this annual Dinner event to praise God Almighty for His blessings during the year and allowing us to meet once again in a healthy and favourable condition.
Let me thank the CIB President and h er team for yet another successful Bankers ’ week celebrations.
The theme for this year ’s celebrations, “The Digital Economy of Ghana – The Strategic Role of the Banking Industry,” was apt.
The banking sector mostly is the main sector in which technological innovation s have had the most profound effects.
Digital innovation and transformation has been made more significant during the pandemic.
To allow the economy 3 to benefit fully, we need to ensure that tech innovations are made under secure, reliable.
And ensure that robust infrastructures are in place to facilitate transformation in the economy.
As has be en our tradition, allow me to first provide an update on our assessment of the economy and the banking sector and our recent decisions.
The steady economic recovery from the pandemic effects since the last quarter of 2020 continued into 2021.
The Bank’s measure of economic activity (the Composite Index of Economic Activity ) recorded an annual growth of 11.2 percent in September, compared with 10.8 percent and 4.2 percent in the same periods of 2020 and 2019, respectively.
For instance, we have seen strong growth and rebound in domestic VAT collections, industrial consumption of electricity, port activity, imports, and air -passenger arrivals.. This sustained rebound in economic activity is underpinned by turnaround in both consumer and business sentiments, driven by perceived improvements in economic prospects, although consumers expressed some concerns about current household finances.
On the external front, Ghana’s external position has continued to remain strong, despite a narrowing of the trade surplus as economy recovers and imports increase.
Production of key export commodities, Cocoa and Gold, remained firm although O il output fell behind projections.
At the same time, higher services outflows continued, resulting in a widening of the current account deficit to US$1.9 billion, compared with US$1.2 billion in 2020.
The above notwithstanding, t he still supportive policy environment and the effective manner in which the government managed the Corona Virus allowed confidence to remain strong in the Ghanaian economy, resulting in higher inflows from foreign direct investments, portfolio flows, in addition to the IMF SDR allocation.
All these put together led to a balance of payments surplus of US$1.7 billion, higher than the US$334 million surplus recorded a year ago.
Ladies and Gentlemen, these developments supported the build-up of international reserves to US$10.8 billion (equivalent to 4.9 months of import cover) in October 2021 from US$8.6 billion 5 (representing 4.0 months of import cover) at the end of December 2020, and provided enough cushion in the foreign exchange market as demand pressures from co rporates, importers, and offshore investors increased since October 2021.
Cumulatively, the Ghana Cedi recorded a year-to-date depreciation of 2.7 percent against the US dollar in November 2021, compared with 3.9 percent depreciation in the same period of 2020.
Ladies and Gentlemen, during the year, i nflation steadily eased to as low as 7.5 percent in May 2021, from 11.4 percent at the peak of the pandemic in July 2020.
More recently however, as is the case globally, inflation has trended up to 11.0 percen t in October 2021, outside the medium -term target band of the Central Bank , due to both supply (food prices) and demand (petroleum price pressures) shocks.
Underlying inflation pressures are also elevated, highlighting the risks to the inflation outlook.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the above developments informed the MPC’s assessment of the emerging risks and threats to inflation, particularly as these supply side constraints become embedded in 6 general price setting behaviour.
To prevent the potential risk of de- anchoring inflation expectations in the outlook, and undermining the price stability objective of the central bank which has underpinned and supported the broad -based recovery we have experienced so far, the MPC raised the Monetary Policy Rate by 100 basis points.
The economic outlook for 2022 is positive although there are some potential risks which should be closely monitored.
In particular, the uncertainties surrounding food prices, petroleum price adjustments, and the potential second round effects of these are likely to exert inflationary pressures in the outlook.
The recent widening of the Ghana’s sovereign bond spreads after a successful bond issue in April 2021 surprised all of us, although we were aware of investor sentiments and their assessment of Ghana’s fiscal risks as they see the fiscal deficit outturn for 2020 as unsustainable and expecting very bold and decisive measures from the government to re -anchor fiscal consolidation and stabilize debt.
Investors have assessed that, as compared to our peers, Ghana required a stronger fiscal rectitude 7 to re-establish investor confidence, and did not see the mid -year budget as addressing their sentiments.
The markets assessment of the 2022 budget also suggest lingering doubts about the abilit y of the revenue measures announced to translate into a large increase in domestic revenue.
To add to this, government expenditure is projected to increase significantly in 2022.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the widening spread triggered investor sell-offs and has created a huge financing gap and put pressure on the local currency.
As a Market Access Country, we have a huge burden to demonstrate a strong recovery and to ensure that the bold revenue measures introduced yield the required results.
We are at a point where there is no room for policy forbearance on all levels, otherwise the huge financing burden could unravel the anchor and erode the gains we have made in the last 4 years.
This calls for a social contract on fronts with common aspirations across the aisle to make sure we sustained the recovery momentum.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a good place to move the discussion to the banking sector.
The sector has been significantly 8 transformed following recapitalization and comprehensive regulatory reforms.
As if by some divine design, the reforms repositioned banks with strong capital buffers before the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic hit .
After the shock, the Bank granted macroprudential regulatory reliefs to ease liquidity constraints within the financial sector.