ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
Let me conclude by thanking the British High Commission for its leadership, and all participants for your engagement.
I am calling on all stakeholders, including development partners and our diaspora leaders – let's work together deliberately and decisively to transform remittances from simple transfers into powerful engines of growth, resilience and shared prosperity.
By deepening our markets, strengthening our institutions, and mobilising diaspora capital through credible and transparent frameworks, we can build a more resilient, investment-driven future for Ghana.
I wish you productive discussions and a successful summit.
77th Annual New Year School and Conference Speech by Dr.
Johnson Pandit Asiama Governor, Bank of Ghana Great Hall, University of Ghana | 6 January 2026 1 His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, Chairperson, The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Members of the University Council, Policy Makers, Development Partners, Members of the Academic Community, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a privilege to address this distinguished gathering at the 77 th Annual New Year School and Conference of the University of Ghana.
For nearly eight decades, this forum has provided a vital space for national reflection, bringing together ideas, evidence, and experience to interrogate the choices that shape Ghana’s development path.
I commend the University for sustaining this invaluable tradition.
This year’s theme, “Building the Ghana We Want Together for Sustainable Development, ” is both timely and instructive.
It reminds us that development is the product of deliberate choices, sound institutions, and shared responsibility.
Above all, it reinforces a fundamental truth: the Ghana we want cannot be built by government alone.
It req uires collaboration across policymakers, academia, the private sector, civil society, and citizens.
I am therefore pleased to share perspectives from the standpoint of monetary policy and financial stability, not as ends in themselves, but as enablers of the broader national objectives this Conference seeks to advance.
THE NATIONAL CONTEXT: WHY STABILITY MATTERED As you would re call, we began 2025 with elevated inflation, constrained foreign exchange buffers, weakened confidence, and tighter global conditions that narrowed policy space and tested institutional resilience.
Indeed, macroeconomic instability is never neutral.
It erodes real incomes, discourages investment, and hits households, small businesses, and young people hardest, making stabilisation not a technocratic preference, but a national necessity.
Hence, the role of the Bank of Ghana in 2025 was to restore monetary and financial stability, protect the integrity of the financial system, and rebuild confidence through firm , but measured policy actions and stronger institutional coordination.
The results are now evident.
Inflation eased from above 23 percent into single digits, levels not seen since 2019.
External buffers strengthened significantly, with gross international reserves rising to US$13.8 billion, equivalent to about 5.7 months of i mport cover.
Market confidence improved, and foreign exchange conditions stabili sed.
These outcomes matter not as statistics, but because they create space for planning, for investment, and for reform.
Stability, however, is not the destination.
It is the foundation, which brings me to the first pillar of this Conference – Economic Resilience 2 PILLAR 1: ECONOMIC RESILIENCE Economic resilience depends on predictable policies, credible institutions, and markets that function with clarity and confidence.
In 2025, the focus was on restoring these foundations so that stability could be used deliberately, not merely defended.
From the Bank of Ghana’s perspective, resilience is built when monetary policy transmits effectively, financial institutions remain sound under stress, markets allocate liquidity transparently, and payment and settlement systems continue to function even d uring adjustment.
This view shaped the Bank’s work over the past year.
Priority was given to restoring discipline and predictability in policy operations and market conduct.
Liquidity management frameworks were strengthened, policy signaling clarified, and foreign exchange market discipline reinforced to reduce uncertainty and speculative behaviour.
Foreign exchange reforms were particularly critical.
Foreign exchange inflows into the mining sector were redirected through commercial banks to deepen interbank liquidity while the Net Open Position limits were recalibrated to improve market liquidity and price discovery.
A new foreign exchange operations framework, aligned with best practices, was introduced.
The new framework clarified the Bank’s objectives, supporting reserve accumulation, mitigating excessive short -term volatility, and facilitating market -neutral intermediation.
Also, our e nhanced market surveillance reinforced conduct and transparency.
Together, these reforms are helping to restore confidence in the FX market and anchor ing expectations.
Within the banking sector, resilience was reinforced through tighter prudential supervision, improved capital and liquidity oversight, and direct action to address vulnerabilities that were exposed by recent shocks.
Capital buffers were also strengthened as non-performing loans declined, and governance standards tightened at board level.
Supervisory engagement shifted toward forward -looking risk assessment, recogni sing that resilience must be rebuilt continuously, not assumed.
Economic resilience also depends on credible arrangements for managing distress when it arises.
In 2025, the Bank strengthened its crisis -management and resolution framework, drawing lessons from the banking sector clean-up.
The resolution function was upgraded to a full-fledged Resolution and Restructuring Department.
In addition, recovery and resolution planning expectations were clarified, and work advanced to strengthen the legal and operational effectiveness of the framework under Act 930.
In pushing these boundaries, our objective is clear: potential distress must be addressed early and in an orderly manner, without destabilising the wider system or eroding public confidence.
Beyond banks, resilience increasingly rests on the integrity of financial infrastructure.
Reforms in payments and financial services have focused on interoperability, remittance transparency, and stronger oversight of emerging risks.
New guidelines for digital credit 3 providers strengthened responsible lending and consumer protection.
Corporate governance standards were introduced for payment service providers and electronic money issuers.
Reforms to the inward remittance framework improved transparency and traceability of foreign exchange inflows, supporting liquidity management and confidence in the cedi.
In parallel, the recent passage of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act has established a clear legal framework for digital assets, with the Bank of Ghana and the Securities and Exchange Commission designated as joint regulators.
These measures matter because resilience today depends not only on balance sheets, but on the uninter rupted functioning of digital and payment rails that support households, businesses, and cross-border trade.
Looking ahead to 2026, the emphasis shifts from restoration to consolidation.
Monetary and market reforms will be embedded more deeply into routine practice.
Supervision will become more risk-based and preventive.
Resolution and financial infrastructure reforms will move from framework design to operational maturity.
The objective is to ensure that stability translates into durable intermediation, credible institutions, and an economy better able to absorb shocks without repeated resets.
PILLAR 2: HUMAN CAPITAL FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH The second pillar of this Conference (nurturing human capital for inclusive growth ) goes to the core of Ghana’s long-term development challenge.
Productivity, resilience, and inclusion are ultimately anchored in people.
Education, skills development, health, and innovation are therefore not social add-ons; they are core economic investments.
Inclusive growth requires that these investments reach broadly across society, enabling individuals, regardless of background or geography, to participate meaningfully in economic activity and share its benefits.
Economies that underinvest in human capital may grow episodically, but they do not transform.
While the Bank of Ghana’s mandate is monetary stability, stability itself plays an enabling role.
Predictable prices, functioning financial systems, and reliable payment infrastructure protect the real value of investments in education, skills, health, and create space for sustained investment across early childhood education, basic and secondary schooling, tertiary education, TVET, and youth development, etc.
As we move forward, renewed stability must be translated into deliberate, coordinated investment in people, particularly young people, supported by stronger collaboration between policymakers, educational institutions, and researchers.
Inclusive growth wil l ultimately depend on how effectively Ghana mobilises and deploys its human capital.
4 PILLAR 3: GOVERNANCE, INSTITUTIONAL CREDIBILITY , AND TRUST The third pillar, good governance and the fight against corruption, cut across all development objectives.
Weak institutions, opaque rules, and inconsistent enforcement distort incentives, undermine trust, and weaken policy effectiveness.
For a central bank, governance is expressed through transparency, predictability, and discipline.
In 2025, steps were taken to strengthen institutional credibility, including greater openness in monetary policy decision -making through the publication of in dividual Monetary Policy Committee votes and clearer majority outcomes.
These measures were intended to reinforce accountability and public confidence in policy decisions.
Beyond monetary policy, governance expectations across the financial sector were tightened.
Boards were reminded that oversight must be substantive, not symbolic.
Greater emphasis was placed on internal controls, ethical conduct, and accountability, particularly in response to rising incidents of fraud and insider -related misconduct.
Supervisory focus increasingly shifted from formal compliance to the effectiveness of controls in practice.
Governance reforms also extended to crisis preparedness and resolution.
Strengthened recovery planning, clearer escalation frameworks, and ongoing work to enhance the resolution regime under Act 930 reflect a forward -looking approach, one that seeks to prevent crises where possible and manage them responsibly when they occur.
Going forward, effective governance will depend on continued collaboration across institutions and society, supported by credible enforcement, strong accountability mechanisms, and engaged citizens.
PILLAR 4: INDUSTRIALISATION AND STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION Industrialisation requires more than ambition.
It requires a stable macroeconomic environment, functioning financial markets, and institutions willing to support productive investment over the medium to long term.
The Bank of Ghana’s role is not to direct credit, but to create the conditions under which credit can flow sustainably to the real economy.
In 2025, progress in restoring financial sector soundness, strengthening governance, and rebuilding confidence helped restore the system’s capacity to support productive activity.
As stability returned, banks began to re-engage more actively with Ghana’s trade and export agenda.
Export finance desks were set up, support for agro -processing and non-traditional exports expanded, and firms were better positioned to manage trade and foreign exchange risks.
These developments matter because industriali sation is inseparable from access to finance, predictable markets, and the ability to connect to regional and continental opportunities, including under the AfCFTA framework.
5 Looking ahead to 2026, the emphasis will be on the quality of intermediation, ensuring that capital supports SMEs, manufacturing, agro -processing, and export -oriented enterprises that drive structural transformation.
Stability creates the conditions for th is shift; effective intermediation determines whether it delivers results.
A NATIONAL PRIORITY: GOLDBOD AND THE DOMESTIC GOLD PURCHASE PROGRAMME (DGPP) Before I conclude, let me address an issue that has featured prominently in recent national discourse: GoldBod and the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP).
This conversation matters not because it is controversial, but because it speaks directly to how Ghana manages strategic national priorities at moments of stress and transition.
GoldBod is no longer a concept; it is operational.
It is embedded within our macroeconomic framework and has reshaped how Ghana captures value from its gold resources while strengthening external buffers.
The relevant question is therefore not whether GoldBod should exist, but how it should be governed, refined, and sustained in the national interest.
The Domestic Gold Purchase Programme was introduced at a moment of acute vulnerability, when foreign exchange buffers became thin and confidence was fragile.
Its purpose was clear: to strengthen reserves, stabili se the currency, and create space for macroeconomic recovery by leveraging Ghana’s own natural endowment.
Judged against th is stabilisation objective, the programme played a vital role.
It is also important to be candid: this stability came at a cost.
Since the setup of the DGPP (G40, G4Forex, or G4R) , the Bank of Ghana has had to carry the financial burden of a national strategic policy ; one that sought to restore confidence and protect the wider economy.
Indeed, that was a deliberate choice, taken in the national interest.
However, national priorities do not stand still, and neither should the policies that support them.
Hence, several measures were taken in 2025 to refine the DGPP – for example the G4O was cancelled while aspects of the G4R was refined.
Governance, transparency, and risk management were strengthened, particularly within the artisanal and small -scale gold trading segment.
Settlement risks were reduced through payment -before-release requirements and ring -fencing of offtake proceeds.
Pricing structures were imp roved through reductions in discounts, agent fees, and assay charges.
Arguably, the institutional role of GoldBod has strengthened coordination across the value chain, while the introduction of a Gold FX Auction mechanism has enabled more structured and transparent intermediation of gold-related foreign exchange flows.
Looking ahead to 2026, the G4R programme must be anchored more firmly within the broader Government of Ghana framework as a national priority, and r esponsibility will be shared in such a way that sustainability does not rest on any single institution.
6 We encourage informed debate, evidence-based analysis, and diverse perspectives on such critical programmes such as the DGPP .
In that spirit, the Bank of Ghana, working with the GoldBod and the Ministry of Finance, intends to convene a focused policy workshop with experts, market practitioners, and policymakers to examine how this national priority can be refined further in line with best practices elsewhere.
To conclude, let me thank you again for this invitation.
Indeed, the history of the New Year School reminds us that development is achieved through sustained effort, sound institutions, and collective responsibility.
If the past year was about restoring confidence, then the year ahead must be about putting that confidence to work, car efully, productively, and with judgment, in service of a more resilient, inclusive, and competitive Ghanaian economy.
I look forward to the insights that will emerge from this Conference and to continued engagement as we collectively build the Ghana we want.
Thank you, and I wish you fruitful deliberations.
On Tuesday, 6 January 2026, Dr.
Johnson P .
Asiama, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, delivered an abridged version of his remarks at the 77 th Annual New Year School and Conference hosted by the University of Ghana.
The full text of his prepared speech is published above for reference.
CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF BANKERS, GHANA 2025 GOVERNOR’S DAY (ANNUAL BANKERS’ DINNER) REMARKS BY DR.
JOHNSON PANDIT ASIAMA GOVERNOR, BANK OF GHANA MOVENPICK AMBASSADOR HOTEL, ACCRA 20 DECEMBER 2025 Distinguished Chairs and Chief Executives, Colleagues in regulation and supervision, Leaders of financial institutions, Partners across the financial ecosystem and friends, Good evening.
As the year 2025 draws to a close, I find myself, like many of you, taking a moment to breathe out.
Not because the work is finished, it never is, but because this has been a year that demanded sustained judgment, difficult choices, and decisions whose consequences reached far beyond the moment they were taken.
This evening’s event is important, as it brings together the institutions that bore the weight of adjustment over the past ten months.
You were not observers of policy during the period; but you were participants in it.
You recalibrated balance sheets, repriced risk, restructured portfolios, strengthened governance, and operated under conditions that demanded discipline rather than comfort.
When I assumed office earlier in the year, the challenge at the time was not the absence of ideas or instruments.
It was the erosion of confidence, in signals, in coordination, and in the consistency of policy implementation.
At the time, m arket behaviour reflected uncertainty rather than conviction; and in such an environment, even well-intended actions struggled to gain traction.
I. Re-establishing Monetary and Market Discipline The first task since I came into office , therefore, was to re -establish monetary and market discipline.
Early decisions by the Monetary Policy Committee were deliberately firm.
You will remember the 100-basis-point increase in the policy rate at the March meeting .
This was not about signaling toughness for its own sake; it was about reinforcing the Bank’s commitment to disinflation and anchoring inflation expectations.
This was accompanied by important governance reforms, notably the move to transparent majority voting and the publication of individual votes , to strengthen accountability and credibility.
Operational reforms followed quickly.
From June, the dynamic cash reserve requirement was recalibrated to align domestic currency deposits with cedi reserves and foreign currency deposits with foreign currency reserves, correcting structural mismatches in liquidity risk management.
In September, the policy rate corridor was widened from ±100 basis points to ±200 basis points, improving the Bank’s ability to manage short-term liquidity and sharpen policy transmission.
Net open position limits were tightened in October, removing the allowance for net long foreign - currency positions and significantly reducing speculative exposure on bank balance sheets.
Open Market Operations (OMO) were also re-engineered.
A longer-tenor sterilisation instrument was introduced to complement existing tools, and later, the return to the 14 -day bill as the main OMO instrument .
This restored clarity to short -term rate signaling.
These changes reshaped liquidity planning, treasury behaviour, and market pricing across the system.
You felt these changes immediatel y; and the system responded.
Inflation, which stood above 23 percent at the start of the year, declined steadily into single digits by November, reaching levels not seen since 2019.
Over the same period, the cedi appreciated cumulatively by over 20 percent, reflecting a return of order rather than speculation.
In response to sustained disinflation, the MPC was able to reduce the policy rate by a cumulative 1,000 basis points over the course of the year - a sequence that would not have been credible without the earlier discipline.
At the market level, predictability began to return.
Issuance became more structured, coordination improved, and trading volumes in the Ghana Fixed Income Market, which had fallen sharply after the debt exchange, more than doubled by October , compared to the previous year , signaling renewed confidence in market functioning.
These outcomes reflected deliberate coherence across policy, operations, communication, and market conduct.
Strengthening Banks, Integrity, and Systemic Resilience But ladies and gentlemen, m acro-stability alone is never sufficient.
The deeper work of 2025 lay in strengthening the resilience and integrity of the financial system itself.
And that was the second strand of work we did.
The banking sector entered the year still bearing the effects of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
Capital adequacy pressures were real ; as a t the end of 2024, eleven banks recorded capital ratios below the prudential threshold.
By November 2025, that number had reduced to five, reflecting recapitalisation efforts, supervisory engagement, and improving macro conditions.
The expectation remains clear: remaining capital gaps must be closed and buffers rebuilt.
Asset quality was addressed directly.
Elevated non -performing loans were treated as a systemic risk, not a background statistic.
Banks were given clear timelines to reduce NPL ratios toward the prudential benchmark of 10 percent by end -2026.
Loan restructu ring was encouraged where appropriate, particularly as interest rates declined, to preserve viable credit relationships while confronting risk directly.
Governance standards were also tightened, deliberately and visibly.
Boards were reminded that oversight cannot be symbolic.
Local governance in foreign -owned institutions was strengthened, and expectations around outsourcing, data protection, and operational resilience were clarified and enforced.
Strong governance is not a constraint on competitiveness; it is a prerequisite for it.
At the system level, macro -prudential supervision moved beyond diagnostics toward prevention.
Stress testing, forward-looking assessments, and capital planning were strengthened, with a clear trajectory toward Basel III -aligned tools, to ensure the system can absorb shocks without transmitting them.
Alongside these efforts, we began reforms in the microfinance and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) sector to restore d iscipline, strengthen supervision, and protect depositors, recognising the sector’s importance to financial inclusion and local economic activity.
Our aim is to stabilise the segment, improve standards, and rebuild confidence in institutions serving the most vulnerable parts of the economy.
Under the reforms, we have adopted a comprehensive Microfinance Sector Reform Strategy to resolve longstanding structural weaknesses and reposition the sector as a credible pillar of inclusive finance.
The reform is anchored on a new institutional architecture designed to enhance r esilience, rebuild public confidence, and expand access to financial services across all segments of society.
The architecture establishes four distinct but complementary institutional categories; Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Community Banks (CBs), Credit Unions (CUs), and Last Mile Providers (LMPs) each with clearly defined mandates and prudential frameworks.
In ad dition, the ARB Apex Bank will be restructured into a strategic policy instrument for the entire microfinance sector, thereby extending its reach beyond rural and community banks to serve as a central intermediary for policy transmission, institutional support, and sector-wide capacity building.
Equally important is the renewed focus on financial integrity.
As Ghana undergoes its third FATF mutual evaluation, the Bank made it clear that compliance on paper is no longer sufficient; what matters is whether controls work in practice, risks are identified early, and issu es are acted on decisively.
AML/CFT expectations were therefore strengthened across banks, SDIs, forex bureaux, and other institutions, with supervisory focus on the quality and timeliness of reporting, the effectiveness of monitoring s ystems, the speed of remediation, and clear board accountability.
These indicators increasingly informed supervisory planning and enforcement.