ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
This transformation requires far more than conventional approaches.
It demands bold and 2 | P a g e decisive leadership, coordinated policy actions, technological innovation, institutional resilience, and above all, public confidence in the institutions entrusted with managing the economy.
Yet, within these challenges lies a unique opportunity: an opportunity to move beyond aspiration and translate our national vision into practical action and measurable outcomes that improve livelihoods, strengthen businesses, and restore confidence across the economy.
Restoring Stability and Confidence through Credible Monetary Policy Ladies and gentlemen, Macroeconomic stability is the bedrock upon which every successful economy is built.
A stable macroeconomic environment, characteri sed by low and predictable inflation, as well as stable exchange rate, provides the confidence that businesses need to invest, expand, and create jobs.
Without price stability, businesses cannot plan.
Without exchange rate stability, investors hesitate.
Without confidence in economic management, long -term capital retreats.
The mandate of the Bank of Ghana is therefore not merely technical; it is fundamentally developmental.
Over the past several years, the Bank has had to navigate exceptionally difficult conditions.
Inflation surged, fiscal pressures intensified, global financing conditions tightened, and market confidence weakened.
These developments exposed structural weakn esses and underscored the importance of policy coordination, institutional credibility, and central bank independence.
We have responded decisively.
Our monetary policy strategy has focused on restoring credibility, strengthening the inflation -targeting framework, rebuilding reserves, and stabilising market expectations.
Through disciplined policy implementation, inflation has moderated significantly.
Exchange rate conditions have stabilised, reserves have strengthened considerably, and confidence has rebounded in the economy.
But stability must never be taken for granted.
The recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remind us that the global environment remains highly uncertain.
Commodity price volatility, supply chain disruptions, and financial market uncertainty continue to pose risks, particularly for emerging economies such as ours.
This is why the Bank of Ghana remains firmly committed to a forward-looking and data-dependent monetary policy framework.
Our responsibility is not simply to react to events, but to anticipate risks, anchor expectations, and maintain conditions that support sustainable growth.
To reinforce policy credibility, the Bank has undertaken several reforms: 3 | P a g e • We have enhanced the inflation-targeting framework by recalibrating forecasting models and policy tools to better reflect structural changes in the economy.
• We have intensified liquidity management operations to improve monetary policy transmission and minimise excess market liquidity that could destabilise the foreign exchange market.
• We have strengthened reserve accumulation through the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, helping increase gross international reserves to historically stronger levels.
• We have improved transparency and accountability in policymaking, including the publication of individual Monetary Policy Committee voting positions to deepen communication and strengthen public confidence.
These reforms are not merely technical adjustments.
They are part of a broader institutional reset aimed at restoring trust, predictability, and resilience in economic management.
Financial Stability as Catalyst for Economic Growth Ladies and Gentlemen, no economy can achieve sustainable transformation without a stable and resilient financial system.
Financial stability is not an abstract concept reserved for regulators.
It affects businesses seeking credit, entrepreneurs pursuing ex pansion, households saving for the future, and investors evaluating risk.
A stable financial system mobilises savings efficiently, allocates capital productively, absorbs shocks, and supports economic expansion.
This is why the Bank of Ghana has shifted toward a more proactive, forward -looking, and risk- sensitive supervisory framework.
We are strengthening our ability to identify vulnerabilities early, anticipate emerging threats, and ensure that the financial sector remains resilient in an increasingly complex environment.
Our strategy is anchored on six interconnected priorities: First, proactive risk identification and mitigation.
We are deploying enhanced data analytics and early-warning systems to detect vulnerabilities before they become systemic.
Second, promoting innovation alongside resilience.
Digital transformation is reshaping finance globally.
Ghana must embrace innovation, but innovation without resilience creates fragility.
Cybersecurity, operational resilience, and technology governance are now central pillars of prudential supervision.
4 | P a g e Third, strengthening governance and accountability.
Strong institutions require strong governance.
Weak controls and poor risk culture can quickly evolve into systemic threats.
We are therefore intensifying our supervisory focus on governance standards, board effectiveness, and compliance culture across regulated institutions.
Fourth, building capacity for emerging risks.
The future of regulation will increasingly involve climate risk, artificial intelligence, digital assets, and geopolitical fragmentation.
We are investing significantly in supervisory capacity to ensure our institutions remain prepared for the risks of tomorrow.
Fifth, integrating climate and ESG risks into supervision.
Climate-related risks are no longer peripheral concerns.
They have direct implications for credit quality, financial resilience, and long-term economic sustainability.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the resilience of our financial system will depend not on the absence of shocks, but on our ability to manage risk intelligently, transparently, and proactively.
Innovation as a Driver of Inclusion and Sustainable Growth Distinguished guests, t rue economic transformation also requires innovation.
Innovation is no longer optional.
It is the engine of productivity, competitiveness, and inclusion.
The businesses that will thrive in the future are those that can adapt quickly, embrace technology, and build cultures of continuous learning and innovation.
This places a significant responsibility on CEOs and business leaders.
You must not only manage organisations – you must shape the future.
Technology is fundamentally changing how we produce, trade, finance, and govern.
Artificial intelligence, data analytics, cloud computing, and digital finance are redefining business models and market structures globally.
Ghana cannot afford to be a passive observer in this transformation.
The Bank of Ghana is therefore positioning itself at the forefront of digital financial innovation.
The establishment of the FinTech and Innovation Department and the Virtual Assets Department reflect our commitment to building a modern, inclusive, and efficient payment ecosystem.
Digital finance is already transforming access to payments, savings, credit, investment, and remittance services.
FinTech innovation is lowering transaction costs, improving convenience, and expanding financial inclusion.
5 | P a g e Significant progress is also being made in exploring how the e-Cedi, Ghana’s proposed Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), could be leveraged for cross -border payments, f ollowing the successful completion of the pilot phase.
The initiative reflects our broader commitment to exploring sovereign digital currency solutions and their potential to improve payment system efficiency, including cross-border and wholesale payment applications.
We are also leveraging cloud computing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence internally to strengthen policy analysis, improve decision-making, and enhance operational efficiency.
But innovation must be responsible.
As we embrace technological transformation, we must ensure that innovation is accompanied by sound governance, ethical safeguards, cybersecurity resilience, and consumer protection.
The challenge before us is therefore not simply to digitise – it is to digitise responsibly and inclusively.
From Recovery to Transformation: The Way Forward Ladies and gentlemen, while macroeconomic stability creates the enabling environment, it is the private sector that ultimately drives transformation.
As CEOs, you are the architects of economic growth, the creators of jobs, and the innovators who are shaping the future of our nation.
To anchor Ghana’s economic reset and sustain long-term growth, several priorities must guide our collective efforts: • Economic Diversification: We must reduce our overdependence on a narrow export base and build new growth engines across manufacturing, agribusiness, technology, pharmaceuticals, tourism, and digital services.
• Value Addition and In dustrialisation: Ghana must move beyond exporting raw materials toward processing, manufacturing, branding, and industrial competitiveness.
• Stronger Public-Private Partnerships: Transformation cannot be delivered by government alone.
Sustainable progress requires collaboration between policymakers, regulators, financiers, and the private sector.
• Governance and Institutional Integrity: Transparency, accountability, and the rule of law remain essential foundations for investment, competitiveness, and economic confidence.
6 | P a g e Conclusion Ladies and gentlemen, Ghana’s economic transformation will not happen by accident.
It will require disciplined policy choices, resilient institutions, innovative businesses, and courageous leadership.
The task before us is challenging, but it is achievable.
The progress we have made demonstrates that when institutions act decisively, when policy coordination is strengthened, and when the public and private sectors work together, the vision of economic transformation can become a reality.
Ladies and gentlemen, we must move beyond recovery.
We must build a more competitive economy.
A more innovative economy.
A more resilient economy.
And above all, an economy that creates opportunities and prosperity for all Ghanaians.
As business leaders, policymakers, and regulators, we each have a responsibility to shape that future.
Let us therefore seize this moment – not merely to discuss transformation, but to deliver it.
Let us act with vision.
Let us lead with integrity.
And let us work together to build a stronger and more prosperous Ghana.
Let me once again thank the organizers of the Ghana CEO Summit for providing this vital platform for collective action.
I look forward to the insights that will emerge from this dialogue – and to the partnerships that will carry us into Ghana’s next economic chapter.
ACI FMA WORLD CONGRESS 2026 THEME: GLOBAL LIQUIDITY, CAPITAL FLOWS AND THE OUTLOOK FOR EMERGING MARKETS DAY 1 KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY DR.
ZAKARI MUMUNI FIRST DEPUTY GOVERNOR, BANK OF GHANA THURSDAY, 21 MAY 2026 KEMPINSKI HOTEL GOLD COAST CITY, ACCRA The Leadership of ACI Financial Markets Association (FMA) Global and Ghana, Distinguished Governors of Central Banks and Regulators, Leaders of Financial Institutions, Representatives of Stakeholder Institutions, Members of ACI FMA and ACI Ghana, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen gathered here, Good morning.
It is a great pleasure and honour to join you today at the 64th ACI FMA World Congress here in Accra.
Let me first express sincere appreciation to the leadership of ACI FMA Global for giving Ghana the opportunity to host this important gathering.
This Congress comes at a critical time for the global economy and for emerging and frontier markets such as ours.
The theme for this Congress, “Global Liquidity, Capital Flows and the Outlook for Emerging Markets,” is both timely and highly relevant.
Global liquidity and capital flows have become central to the economic fortunes of emerging economies.
They influence exchange rates, reserves, inflation, investment, financial stability, and ultimately the welfare of our people.
Over the past decade, exceptionally accommodative monetary policy in advanced economies supported abundant global liquidity and encouraged significant capital flows into emerging markets.
During this period, many emerging economies benefited from lower bor rowing costs, improved access to external financing, and stronger investor appetite.
However, the global environment has changed significantly in recent years.
Rising interest rates, persistent inflationary pressures, geopolitical tensions, and heightened uncertainty have tightened financial conditions globally.
As financing conditions tightened, capital flows to emerging markets became more volatile and less predictable.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, recent data from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) show that global cross -border bank credit reached approximately US$38 trillion by the end of 2025.
This demonstrates the scale and interconnectedness of modern global finance.
Global liquidity matters because it is the connective tissue of the world economy.
It determines how easily capital moves across borders, how governments finance development, how firms access credit, and how financial systems absorb shocks.
In today’s high ly interconnected world, liquidity conditions in one part of the global economy are rapidly transmitted across markets and jurisdictions.
For emerging and frontier economies, these developments carry important implications.
Global liquidity cycles directly affect exchange rates, reserve adequacy, debt sustainability, refinancing conditions, and financial stability.
When liquidity conditions are favourable, capital flows into emerging markets increase.
But when conditions tighten, those same flows can reverse abruptly, often with significant macroeconomic consequences.
This reality highlights one important lesson: emerging markets must not only attract capital during favourable periods but must also build the resilience necessary to withstand periods of financial tightening and external shocks.
Ladies and gentlemen, the challenge for emerging economies today is no longer simply about access to external financing.
The more important challenge is ensuring that our institutions, markets, and policy frameworks are strong enough to absorb volatility when global conditions deteriorate.
This is particularly important because the nature of external financing to emerging economies has evolved considerably over time.
Beyond traditional bank lending, financing now increasingly comes through portfolio flows, bond markets, foreign direct investment, remittances, and non-bank financial institutions.
While this diversification creates opportunities, it also increases exposure to external vulnerabilities.
Portfolio flows and short-term investments can reverse quickly during periods of uncertainty.
At the same time, global financial markets have become increasingly sensitive to geopolitical developments and shifts in investor sentiment.
Distinguished guests, this brings me to an important question: Are capital flows to emerging markets a catalyst for growth or a trigger for instability?
The answer, in my view, is that they can be both.
On one hand, capital flows provide significant benefits.
They complement domestic savings, finance infrastructure, support private sector growth, and deepen domestic financial markets.
For countries like Ghana, where domestic savings are often insufficient to meet development needs, external capital remains necessary for economic transformation.
On the other hand, the risks associated with capital flows are equally real.
First, large inflows can lead to exchange -rate appreciation and weaken export competitiveness.
What initially appears to be investor confidence can gradually become a structural challenge for domestic production and external competitiveness.
Second, sustained inflows can contribute to excessive credit growth and asset price inflation, particularly when financial systems are not sufficiently regulated.
History reminds us that periods of abundant global liquidity have often been associated with excessive risk-taking and financial vulnerabilities.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, sudden reversals in capital flows can generate severe macroeconomic stress.
When investor sentiment changes abruptly, emerging economies may experience currency depreciation, reserve losses, rising borrowing costs, and broader financial instability.
Many emerging economies have experienced such episodes over the years, particularly during periods of aggressive monetary tightening in advanced economies.
Ghana itself faced similar pressures during the recent tightening cycle, compounded by fiscal challenges and commodity price shocks.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, understanding the drivers of global liquidity is therefore critical for policymakers in emerging markets.
One key driver remains monetary policy in advanced economies, particularly in the United States.
When global interest rates are low, investors search for higher yields in emerging markets.
But when policy rates rise sharply, capital often flows back toward advanced economies.
This demonstrates how developments in major financial centres are transmitted to emerging markets through capital flows, exchange rates, and financial conditions.
In this context, exchange -rate flexibility becomes extremely important.
Flexible exchange-rate regimes can help absorb external shocks and reduce the transmission of foreign monetary conditions into domestic economies.
Exchange-rate flexibility is therefore not merely a technical policy preference; it is an important shock absorber.
Another major issue relates to financial regulation and the growing role of non-bank financial institutions in global finance.
Increasingly, global liquidity is being created and transmitted through institutions operating outside the traditional banking system.
Hedge funds, asset managers, money market funds, and other non-bank institutions now play a much larger role in global capital allocation.
While these institutions improve market efficiency and liquidity under normal conditions, they can also amplify volatility during periods of stress.
For emerging markets, this creates additional uncertainty because capital flows are increasingly driven by actors whose risk appetite and investment behaviour can change rapidly.
Distinguished guests, another factor that deserves increasing attention is geopolitics.
The global economy is operating in an environment of heightened geopolitical fragmentation.
The lingering effects of the Russia -Ukraine conflict, tensions in the Middle East, trade fragmentation, and strategic competition among major powers continue to influence global financial conditions.
Geopolitical tensions are no longer distant political events.
They increasingly affect energy markets, inflation, investor confidence, global trade, and capital allocation decisions.
Indeed, if monetary policy has traditionally been the primary driver of global liquidity, geopolitics is increasingly becoming a second major driver.
For emerging markets, this creates additional complexity because geopolitical shocks often generate sharp movements in commodity prices, exchange rates, and investor sentiment.
In such an environment, resilience becomes even more important.
Ladies and gentlemen, looking ahead, emerging and frontier economies must strengthen their macroeconomic and institutional foundations if they are to navigate an increasingly uncertain global environment successfully.
Prudent fiscal and monetary policies remain essential for maintaining investor confidence and preserving macroeconomic stability.
Strong policy credibility provides countries with greater flexibility during periods of external stress.
Allow me to conclude by highlighting five strategic priorities that I believe should guide emerging and frontier markets going forward.
First, fiscal credibility is non -negotiable.
Sustainable public finances remain the foundation of macroeconomic stability and investor confidence.
Second, reserve adequacy must be viewed as a form of self -insurance rather than a luxury.
Adequate reserves provide important buffers during periods of external volatility.
Third, financial sector regulation must evolve alongside changing capital flow dynamics.
Regulatory frameworks must remain responsive to emerging risks, particularly within the non-bank financial sector.
Fourth, countries must continue building institutional depth and market credibility.
Strong institutions improve policy effectiveness, market confidence, and resilience.
Finally, emerging economies must distinguish between productive long - term capital and volatile short-term flows.
The objective should not simply be attracting capital, but attracting the right kind of capital under appropriate safeguards.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by emphasi sing the central tension at the heart of this discussion.
Global liquidity remains abundant, yet increasingly volatile.
Capital flows continue to provide important opportunities for emerging markets, but they also carry significant risks.
The countries that have successfully navigated repeated episodes of global tightening without major crises did so not because external conditions were always favourable, but because they built strong institutions, maintained credible policies, and strengthened economic resilience over time.
Ghana is committed to that path.
The journey is challenging, and progress requires discipline, consistency, and long-term commitment.
But the direction remains clear.
On that note, I wish you all fruitful deliberations and a successful Congress.
ACI FMA World Congress 2026 Welcome Address by Dr.
Johnson Pandit Asiama Governor, Bank of Ghana Theme: Ghana at the Centre of a New Financial Markets Era Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel | Thursday, 21 May 2026 President and Executives of the ACI Financial Markets Association, Governors and Deputy Governors of Central Banks, Leaders of Financial Institutions, Captains of Industry, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Financial markets are being reshaped in real time.
They are becoming more digital, more connected, and more shaped by emerging economies than they have ever been.
That is the moment in which this Congress meets.
And it is the reason Ghana is honoured to host you.
On behalf of the Bank of Ghana and the people of Ghana, I welcome you all to Accra.
To our colleagues at the ACI Financial Markets Association, sixty -four years of stewardship of professional standards and market integrity, thank you for the trust placed i n Ghana to host this gathering.
Your presence here is itself a signal: that the conversation about the future of global financial markets now requires Accra at the table.
Stability as Infrastructure Let me begin with a proposition that frames everything else I want to say this morning.
Macroeconomic stability is not only good for financial market development.
It is the infrastructure on which financial market development becomes possible.
Without it, capital markets stay shallow, credit stays expensive, and innovation stays trapped on the margins of the formal system.
With it, every other ambition we have for our financial system becomes available to us.
Three years ago, Ghana did not have that infrastructure.
Headline inflation peaked at 54.1 percent in December 2022.
Reserves were thin.
Debt was being restructured.
Market confidence was being rebuilt from a low base.
The decisions taken at the Bank of Ghana and at the Ministry of Finance over the period that followed were not comfortable decisions.
They were the correct ones.
The result, by April of this year: inflation at 3.4 percent.
Reserves above US$13.9 billion, more than five months of import cover.
1,400 basis points off the policy rate since early 2025.
Fiscal consolidation holding.
A banking system recapitalised and lending again.
I share these numbers not in a spirit of celebration.
Global conditions remain uncertain.
Geopolitical tensions are real and live, and we are watching their transmission into our economy carefully.
I share them because they make a point that goes beyond Gh ana.
Stability is not the achievement at which a financial system arrives.