ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
Throughout this process, supervision was exercised firmly, but with purpose.
The objective was not punishment, but protection, of depositors, institutions, and the credibility of the system.
Building the Infrastructure for the Next Phase of Growth Stability and resilience were never the end objective.
They were the foundation.
The third strand of work in 2025 focused on building the infrastructure that will carry Ghana’s financial system into its next phase of growth.
We have made significant progress in modernising payment systems.
A National Payment Systems Strategy for 2025 –2029 was completed, providing a coordinated roadmap for interoperability, cybersecurity, instant payments, and infrastructure modernisation.
Frameworks were developed to identify systemically important payment systems, enabling differentiated oversight that is aligned with international standards.
Domestic payment capability was strengthened.
Work advanced on modernising the gh-link card infrastructure to reduce costs, improve functionality, and enhance interoperability with regional and international schemes.
Migration toward ISO 20022 messaging standards began, laying the groundwork for richer data, improved fraud detection, and more efficient settlement.
Remittance oversight was reinforced through new guidelines for international money transfer operators and the development of a centralised monitoring platform, improving transparency and safeguarding foreign -exchange inflows.
Agent banking frameworks were clarified, and work commenced on agent interoperability to reduce liquidity constraints and expand access nationwide.
Innovation was encouraged, with discipline and safeguards.
Regulatory sandboxes, open -finance frameworks, and digital infrastructure initiatives were pursued with one guiding principle: innovation must advance alongside consumer protection and system integrity.
Because, trust, once lost, is expensive to regain.
This year also saw the passage of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, a significant step in preparing the regulatory framework for digital asset activities.
The Bill establishes the basis for licensing and supervising participants in this space, ensu ring that emerging activity is brought within clear, accountable, and well-governed boundaries.
These investments are not abstract.
They lower costs for banks, improve customer experience, support SMEs and traders, and position Ghana’s financial system to operate competitively in a more integrated region under AfCFTA.
Looking Ahead to 2026 As we turn toward 2026, the central question is no longer whether stability can be restored.
The question is how that stability is used.
For banks, the next phase will bring clearer differentiation.
Institutions that have strengthened governance, improved risk management, and rebuilt capital will find greater room to expand credit responsibly.
Supervisory focus will sharpen on the quality o f intermediation , underwriting discipline, sectoral concentration, cash-flow analysis, and risk pricing.
Credit growth will matter, but credit quality will matter more.
Asset quality will remain a priority.
As interest rates ease, the coming period provides a window for intelligent loan restructuring to accelerate progress toward the 10 percent NPL benchmark by end-2026, without weakening standards.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have received your responses to my earlier call on banks to support Ghana’s export agenda by strengthening export finance desks, supporting agro -processing and non-traditional exports, and engaging more deliberately with AfCFTA-related trade opportunities.
In the year ahead, we expect this momentum to deepen, wi th banks playing a more active role in financing export-oriented enterprises, managing trade risk, and helping firms move from domestic markets into regional and global value chains.
The banking sector must not sit on the sidelines of Ghana’s export agenda.
You must help shape it; and this is the moment for banks to do more to design export -ready loan products, build sector -specific expertise, support risk-sharing and hedging instruments, invest in digital trade platforms, and actively walk with exporters from production to payment.
When banks nurture exporters, they are not doing charity, they are expanding the country’s foreign- exchange base, strengthening their own balance sheets, and deepening the resilience of the financial system.
Every container shipped, every processed good sold abroad, every new contract won, strengthens both the real economy and the banking sector that serves it.
So let us commit to moving from isolated initiatives to a collective export finance strategy.
The Bank of Ghana will continue to play its part, through policy stability, dialogue, and targeted regulatory support, but the energy, innovation, and scale must come from the banks.
Ghana’s exporters are ready.
Our young entrepreneurs are ready.
The global market is open.
What they need now is a banking system fully aligned with the nation’s drive to earn more, produce more, and compete globally.
For boards and senior management, expectations will continue to rise.
Governance will be treated as a core element of financial stability, with deeper engagement around risk appetite, internal controls, and accountability for outcomes.
At the system level, reforms will move decisively from policy intent into routine practice.
Supervision will become more forward-looking and risk-based, regulation more proportionate but exacting where vulnerabilities persist.
Tolerance for repeated weakne sses will be lower, even as engagement remains constructive.
As we strengthen supervision, we are also investing in how we work with you , improving clarity of guidance, streamlining internal processes, and providing more predictable timelines for approvals and regulatory engagement.
Markets, too, will enter a new phase.
The focus will shift from recovery to depth and diversification, mobilising long -term capital for a broader range of issuers and instruments, and strengthening the link between savings and productive investment.
Payments, settlement, data standards, and digital rails will remain strategic priorities.
Faster settlement, richer transaction data, interoperable platforms, and stronger fraud controls will increasingly define competitiveness and resilience.
Innovation will remain central, with sharper expectations.
Priority will be given to solutions that demonstrably lower costs, expand access, strengthen compliance, and improve risk management.
Clearer guidance will support a level playing field between ban ks and non -bank providers, ensuring that innovation strengthens regulated institutions rather than displacing them.
Looking outward, 2026 will also test readiness for regional integration.
Payments, trade finance, FX settlement, and market infrastructure must support cross -border commerce, particularly for SMEs, including through targeted exploration of asset-backed digital settlement instruments, such as gold-backed stablecoins, where they can demonstrably reduce cost and friction in intra-African trade.
Ghana’s opportunity is to position its financial system as a reference point for regional integration.
Underlying all of this is a simple discipline: the next phase of growth will reward systems that are predictable, institutions that are credible, and leadership that is steady.
If 2025 was the year confidence was rebuilt, then 2026 must be the year that confidence is put to work – carefully, productively, and with judgment , in service of a stronger, more competitive Ghanaian economy.
On that note, I thank you for your partnership, your discipline, and your service to the Ghanaian economy, and I wish you and your families a peaceful festive season and a fulfilling year ahead.
THE LISTING OF FIRST ATLANTIC BANK PLC ON THE GHANA STOCK EXCHANGE Theme: Bank Listings, Shared Ownership, and Financial Stability in Ghana KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY DR.
JOHNSON P .
ASIAMA GOVERNOR, BANK OF GHANA Ghana Stock Exchange, Accra Friday, 19 December 2025 Minister for Finance, Chairman of the Board, Managing Director and Management of First Atlantic Bank, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am pleased to join you this morning at the Ghana Stock Exchange for the listing of First Atlantic Bank PLC.
Let me begin by congratulating the Board, Management, and shareholders for reaching this important milestone.
Established in the mid-1990s and licensed as a universal bank in 2014, the Bank has indeed evolved into a mid-tier institution with a national footprint, expanding its branch network to over thirty outlets.
As at late 2025, it accounted for approximately 3 ½ percent of industry assets and over 4 percent of deposits, underscoring its relevance within Ghana’s competitive banking landscape.
More importantly, choosing to list is not the easiest path for a bank.
It requires a willingness to be uncomfortable in public, to accept continuous scrutiny, higher disclosure standards, and the discipline of the market.
The process of converting to a pub lic company, engaging regulators, and completing a public offer reflects institutional preparedness and governance maturity.
By taking this step, First Atlantic Bank is strengthening its capital base, broadening ownership, and contributing to the deepening of Ghana’s capital market.
In doing so, it is reinforcing confidence in the financial system and supporting the broader obje ctive of building a more transparent, resilient, and forward-looking financial sector.
It is worth noting that First Atlantic Bank joins a group of banks already listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange, including Ecobank Ghana, GCB Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, Republic Bank Ghana, Access Bank Ghana, Agricultural Development Bank, CalBank, and Société Générale Ghana, institutions that together account for a significant share of the banking system.
It is notable that it has been almost nine years since the last bank listings involving ADB and Access Bank.
In that sense, today’s event is not routine.
It is consequential.
Also, the fact that First Atlantic Bank completed the Initial Public Offering (IPO) and recorded an oversubscription of the offer signals strong investor confidence in the Bank’s fundamentals and growth outlook.
I am informed that the offer attracted broad participation from both institutional and other investors.
This achievement is particularly noteworthy as it represents the first Initial Public Offering on the Ghana Stock Exchange since 2018.
When a bank lists on the stock market, it does not merely change its share register.
It changes its relationship with the public, with investors, and with the economy it serves.
Ownership broadens ; Accountability deepens.
Transparency becomes continuous rather than episodic.
The institution steps more fully into the public financial architecture of the country.
For the Bank of Ghana, this matters deeply.
A resilient financial system is not built on regulation and supervision alone.
Today’s listing must therefore be understood in a wider context.
It forms part of a broader effort to rebuild confidence, strengthen financial stability, and anchor long-term growth after one of the most difficult macroeconomic episodes in our recent history.
Just three years ago, Ghana was in the grip of what the World Bank described as a homegrown crisis.
Inflation surged to 54.1 percent by December 2022.
The cedi lost more than half of its value between 2022 and 2023.
Foreign exchange reserves fell to barely half a month of import cover by February 2023, the lowest level in decades.
That period was marked by eroded confidence, acute fiscal stress, and severe exchange-rate volatility.
The Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, which could have been easily avoided, placed significant strain on banks, institutional investors, and the capital market.
Trust was shaken.
Balance sheets were tested.
The limits of a narrowly structured financial system were laid bare.
In all these, the lesson is clear: stability cannot be sustained by short-term fixes alone.
It must be built into the structure of the financial system itself, through diversified funding sources, strong governance, deep markets, and shared ownership.
Today, the recovery is real, measurable and meaningful.
As I indicated in my recent MPC statement, inflation declined to 6.3 percent in November 2025, the lowest level in many years.
The cedi has appreciated by over 24 percent year -to-date, supported by tighter monetary conditions, stronger external buffers, and improved fiscal discipline.
Gross international reserves also now stand at about US$11.4 billion, providing close to five months of import cover, compared to the precarious levels of early 2023.
Economic activity has also rebounded.
GDP growth reached 6.3 percent in the first half of 2025, with non-oil growth strengthening to nearly 8 percent.
These outcomes reflect discipline and coordination across policy institutions.
But they also underscore a deeper truth: recovery must now be followed by reform.
It is against this backdrop that the listing of First Atlantic Bank PLC takes on renewed importance.
Across economies, bank listings have quietly strengthened financial systems by adding market discipline, improving resilience, and deepening capital markets.
Listed banks are subject not only to regulation but to continuous market scrutiny, reinforcing governance and accountability.
Access to equity capital provides an additional buffer in times of stress.
As some of the most liquid and widely held securities, listed banks also help anchor market development, allowing banking stability and capital-market depth to reinforce each other.
From a central bank perspective, these outcomes are not incidental.
They align directly with the objectives of financial stability, efficient intermediation, and sustainable growth.
Again, to fully appreciate why bank listings, matter so profoundly at this moment, we must look beyond balance sheets and examine the deeper structure of our financial system, how risks are shared, how value circulates, and how resilience is built.
Generally, o ver the last two decades, Ghana has made some progress in building a strong, competitive, and well-capitalized banking sector.
And foreign participation has been central to this journey, bringing capital, technical expertise, and global standards that helped professionalize the industry.
Our brothers and sisters from South Africa and Nigeria have deeply involved in this process, and their contributions deserve recognition.
Yet structure matters.
Today, foreign -owned banks account for roughly sixty percent of banking system assets.
This concentration of ownership has implications that go beyond profitability or market share.
When profits generated in Ghana are repatriated abroad, those flows pass through the foreign exchange market.
In normal times, the system absorbs them.
In periods of stress, adjustment, or tightening global financial conditions, large and synchronised outf lows can strain liquidity and amplify volatility.
What appears stable in good times can reveal fragility when conditions turn.
For a central bank, currency stability is not abstract.
It determines whether inflation expectations remain anchored, whether businesses can plan with confidence, and whether households feel secure enough to save and invest.
While no single reform can eliminate pressure on the cedi, the ownership structure of the financial system plays a quiet but powerful role in shaping how shocks are transmitted or absorbed.
Bank listings introduce a different dynamic.
By broadening ownership to include pension funds, insurance companies, asset managers, and ordinary Ghanaians, risk and reward are distributed more widely.
Liquidity becomes deeper and more resilient.
Profits do not exit the system all at once; they circulate longer within the domestic economy.
Dividends are reinvested, and confidence rebounds.
This is the difference between liquidity that is merely available and liquidity that is durable.
Global experience shows that markets anchored by a broad investor base are better able to function under stress because risk is held by those most capable of bearing it.
This is not about limiting foreign participation or retreating from openness.
It is about strengthening openness by complementing international capital with domestic capital, and global expertise with local commitment.
In this sense, bank listings are not merely a capital-markets exercise.
They are a stability instrument and a confidence-building mechanism.
The timing of this conversation is also shaped by developments on the investor side of our financial system.
Ghana’s pension sector continues to grow and is projected to exceed one hundred billion cedis in assets this year.
These are patient funds, designed to invest through cycles.
Yet the range of domestic assets available to absorb this capital has remained narrow.
As a result, pension portfolios are heavily concentrated in government securities.
While this has played a stabilising role, over time it creates structural risk and constrains the ability of funds to generate sustainable, risk-adjusted returns.
Listed banks offer a natural solution.
They are tightly regulated, generate relatively stable cash flows, and operate under strong governance and disclosure standards.
For pension funds, bank equities provide diversification while remaining anchored in the domestic economy.
Of course, these are not theoretical.
The CAL Bank rights issue and the First Atlantic Bank IPO were both oversubscribed, demonstrating that when credible assets are made available, domestic capital responds.
The constraint is not a lack of savings or appetite, but a shortage of high-quality domestic equity instruments.
Expanding the supply of such assets allows three objectives to move together: financial stability is strengthened, capital markets deepen, and long-term savings are deployed productively.
When these elements align, the financial system grows not only in size, but in resilience and confidence.
Colleagues, the path we are pursuing is not one of compulsion, but of collaboration.
Through the Financial Stability Council, regulators, market operators, banks, and pension funds are working together to encourage additional bank listings in a manner that is orderly, market -led, and aligned with stability objectives.
In these, the role of the central bank is to steward the system, not to dictate outcomes.
Looking ahead, the direction is clear.
As Ghana’s economy grows and financial intermediation becomes more sophisticated, we should expect more banks to access the equity market, hence stronger links between banking and capital -market development, and broader domestic ownership across key financial institutions.
By 2026 and beyond, a more diversified ownership structure, supported by deeper capital markets and long-term domestic investors, will enhance resilience, reduce concentration risks, and support a financial system better aligned with national development objectives.
In closing, I congratulate the Board, Management, and shareholders of First Atlantic Bank on this important milestone.
I also commend the Ghana Stock Exchange and all market participants whose collective efforts continue to strengthen Ghana’s financial architecture.
Today’s listing is not the end of a journey, but the beginning of a new phase, one defined by higher standards, broader ownership, and deeper responsibility.
A resilient financial system is built not by regulation alone, but by institutions willing to hold themselves to higher public standards.
The Bank of Ghana looks forward to First Atlantic Bank’s continued contribution to a stable, resilient, and forward-looking financial system.
Thank you and congratulations.
WORKSHOP FOR THE COMMITTEE FOR COOPERATION BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND THE BANKING COMMUNITY (COCLAB) TECHNICAL COMMITTEE KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MRS.
MATILDA ASANTE-ASIEDU SECOND DEPUTY GOVERNOR BANK OF GHANA ALISA HOTEL, ACCRA DECEMBER 18, 2025 Justices of the Judicial Service, The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks, The Deputy Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), The Ag.
Deputy-Executive Director of the Cyber Security Authority, Representatives of Regulatory Bodies, Other COCLAB Members, Colleagues from the Bank of Ghana, Friends from the media, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good morning .
It is a pleasure to join you at this important workshop of the Committee for Cooperation Between Law Enforcement Agencies and the Banking Community—COCLAB.
This is my first engagement with the Technical Committee, and I commend you for convening this timely discussion under the theme “Promoting Financial Integrity through Multi -Stakeholder Collaboration.”
This theme speaks directly to a growing concern within our financial ecosystem —the increasing intrusion of unlicensed financial entities whose activities undermine trust, exploit consumers, and threaten the integrity of Ghana’s financial system.
Ghana is currently on a trajectory of great macroeconomic outcomes.
Economic growth is estimated at about 5.5 percent, inflation has eased and remains anchored within the target band at 6.3 percent, and overall financial stability remains steady.
However, periods of recovery als o attract bad actors.
As custodians of the financial system, this is precisely the time when we must be more vigilant and deliberate to protect these hard-won gains.
Over the past decade, Ghana’s financial sector has expanded significantly.
Total assets have increased from GHS102.1 billion in 2015 to about GHS 461.51 billion as at October 2025, supported by digitalisation and innovation.
Banking sector credit grew by 15.86 percent as at September 2025, while consumer confidence reached an all -time high of 119.2 in June 2025, up from 81.2 a year earlier.
Financial inclusion has also improved, expanding access to affordable financial services.
At the same time, digital finance has transformed how Ghanaians access credit and make payments.
Interoperability has enabled instant loans —sometimes as low as GHS50 —delivered through mobile platforms.
Online banking transactions rose sharply from GHS10.9 billion in February 2024 to GHS28.8 billion in February 2025.
While these developments bring convenience and inclusion, they have also exposed regulatory gaps especially since no single institution regulates the entire value chain.
Unlicensed and criminal operators are beginning to exploit vulnerable borrowers with p roducts that appear attractive but conceal punitive terms, abusive recovery practices, and data-privacy violations.
Many of these actors operate across sectors.
They advertise through traditional and social media, operate without licenses, provide bank -like products, and disburse and recover funds through mobile money platforms.
Each of these activities falls under different regulatory and enforcement mandates.
When responsibilities are fragmented, enforcement weakens.
This challenge clearly requires joint ownership and coordinated action.
In 2024 alone, the Bank of Ghana received over 50 complaints related to unregulated savings, investment, and lending schemes.
These entities often mimic legitimate financial products while imposing exorbitant charges and engaging in abusive practices that erode public confidence.
The Bank of Ghana, working with COCLAB members and other stakeholders, has taken steps to address this problem, including public warnings and enforcement actions.
In collaboration with the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), arrests have been made.
However, it is evident that these measures are not sufficient on their own.
The persistence of these operators calls for new strategies, deeper intelligence sharing, and stronger institutional coordination.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the trust, soundness, and stability of our financial system are at stake.
The COCLAB Technical Committee is uniquely positioned to lead a coordinated response to this threat.
To strengthen our collective efforts, I encourage COCLAB to consider establishing structured multi-agency working groups to analyse the modus operandi of these illicit actors and recommend joint enforcement and preventive measures.