Remarks by Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama at the Launch of Sustainable Finance Roadmap
Source: bank_of_ghana
Date: 2026-06-30

Launch of Sustainable Finance Roadmap Remarks by Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama Governor, Bank of Ghana Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel | Tuesday, 30 June 2026 Honourable Minister, Fellow Regulators of Ghana's Financial Sector, Representatives of the International Finance Corporation, the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and the Sustainable Banking and Finance Network, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. Good morning. It is my pleasure to welcome such a distinguished audience to today's event. Your presence today highlights our shared commitment to advancing sustainable finance in Ghana and ultimately, contributing to global progress in this emerging field. Today marks a truly momentous occasion for Ghana's financial sector, as we take a decisive step toward a more resilient and sustainable future for our nation. Let me begin with the idea that runs through everything I want to say this morning. Sustainable finance is increasingly central to financial stability, to long-term investment, and to economic resilience. It is reshaping where global capital flows and what investors expect of financial systems. A changing climate is one reason this work has become urgent, but it is not the whole of it. Sustainable finance is also how we coordinate our regulation, and how we unlock new capital for Ghana's development. I want to speak this morning about why sustainable finance matters for our financial system, what it asks of us as regulators, and the opportunity it opens for Ghana. Where we are As Ghana strengthens its economic foundations, it is equally important that our financial system is equipped to support resilient and sustainable growth. Part of that resilience means reckoning with a new kind of risk. A changing climate now bears directly on financial stability, as recent flooding across Ghana reminds us. Such risks do not stay in the environment; they travel into the financial system thro ugh the value of assets, the cost of claims, and the security of lending. The instruments and structures of the past were not built for them and meeting them asks us to recalibrate how we supervise, how we price risk, and how we plan. Indeed, while we cannot predict the future with certainty, we can shape it through the choices we make today. That future will only become a reality if we are intentional in creating it. It is now clear that climate change and other emerging sustainability challenges are no longer distant concerns. They are realities that increasingly shape our economies, our businesses, and our financial systems. Hence, responding to these challenges is not simply an option – it is a responsibility we owe to our nation and to generations yet to come. Ignoring these evolving risks would leave our financial system vulnerable. So, we have chosen a different path – one of foresight, innovation, and collaboration. Certainly, the financial system which served us well in the past must continue to evolve to meet the demands of the future. What this means for regulation In Ghana, financial stability is regulated across four sectors: banking, insurance, securities, and pensions, with each regulator overseeing a distinct segment of the financial sector and guided by its respective regulatory authority. Together, these pillars form an interconnected system whose strength depends on coordination, collaboration, and a shared sense of responsibility. But risks of this kind respect none of these boundaries, and a risk that moves across the whole system cannot be managed by any one institution acting alone. Clearly, achieving a truly sustainable financial ecosystem goes beyond individual mandates. It calls for coordinated, long-term collaboration among all relevant regulators, aligned around a shared goal. To ensure that sustainable finance is fully embedded across Ghana's financial landscape, we must continue to deepen our partnerships, align our strategies, and act with purpose and consistency. The Bank of Ghana’s Sustainability Journey: A decade of preparation What we mark today rests on a decade of deliberate work. In 2015, the Bank of Ghana convened a multi -stakeholder committee, later formalised as the Sustainable Banking Principles Steering Committee, bringing together the Bank, the Ghana Association of Banks, and the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2019, that work produced the Sustainable Banking Principles and their Sector Guidance Notes, designed to manage environmental and social risks, promote green and sustainable investment, and align financial intermediation with Ghana's broader development objectives. All twenty-three chief executives of our commercial banks voluntarily endorsed them, collectively pledging to integrate sustainability considerations into their governance structures, risk management processes, and overall business operations. This unified commitment marked a turning point, signalling the readiness of Ghana's banking sector to embrace sustainability not as an obligation, but as a strategic imperative. In 2021, with the support of the International Finance Corporation and the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs, we built a standardised framework to measure compliance, and that compliance has risen steadily, reaching an industry average of 73 per cent as at September 2025. And in 2024, we published a comprehensive four -year Strategic Plan on Sustainability and Climate-Related Risks, covering the period from 2024 to 2028 and designed to consolidate, deepen, and scale up our ongoing efforts, and issu ed the Climate -Related Financial Risk Directive, which strengthens the capacity of regulated financial institutions to identify, assess, and manage climate-related financial risks, and integrate these considerations into our supervisory and regulatory frameworks. The sustainable finance roadmap: from initiatives to a system And that is what this Roadmap is for. It takes work that has, until now, lived in different places and under different mandates, and for the first time provides a common framework through which Ghana's financial regulators can approach sustainable finance in a coordinated way. It is anchored on three core pillars: (a) Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Integration; (b) Climate-Related Risk Management; and (c) Financing Sustainability. These pillars reflect our shared vision of embedding sustainability at the heart of financial sector operations and decision-making. Under each, we have set out practical steps for the respective regulators to take, so that what we describe this morning is not an aspiration, but a sequence of actions with owners attached to them. These actions will strengthen our collective ability to anticipate emerging risks, respond proactively, and unlock new opportunities that support inclusive and sustainable economic growth. And through this framework, we aim not only to strengthen the capacity of the financial sector to manage emerging risks, but also to unlock opportunities that drive long-term value creation for the economy. Financing Sustainability is about mobilising private and institutional capital, developing green and blended finance, and positioning Ghana as a regional hub for sustainable finance. But a roadmap, of course, is only as good as its implementation. The launch is an important milestone, but implementation is where its true value will be realised. What success looks like Sustainable finance is not only about managing risks. It is also about positioning Ghana to access new pools of global capital, to finance critical infrastructure, to support the energy transition, to deepen our financial markets, and to strengthen long-term growth. Our purpose as regulators has always been the safety and soundness of the financial system. But soundness in this era means more than absorbing today's shocks. It means positioning Ghana's financial sector as a leading destination for sustainable finance, attracting the domestic and international capital that a sustainable transition requires, capital that is increasingly looking for precisely the frameworks we are putting in place. Done well, this is not a cost we carry. It is a market we open: deeper acce ss to climate and development finance, a more resilient banking system, and a credible claim to leadership in sustainable finance across our region. In this way, we do not merely regulate for stability; we actively shape a financial ecosystem that position s Ghana to fully leverage emerging opportunities within the global sustainable finance landscape. Acknowledgements To the members of the Sustainable Finance Roadmap Committee, drawn from the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Ghana, the National Insurance Commission, the National Pensions Regulatory Authority, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Institute of Char tered Accountants, Ghana, and the Chartered Institute of Bankers: this Roadmap is your achievement, and the coordination it represents is exactly the discipline it now asks all of us to sustain. To the International Finance Corporation, the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and the Sustainable Banking and Finance Network: your expertise and partnership have shaped this work from the beginning, and we value it greatly. The roadmap we launch today is an important milestone, but its success will be measured by what we do next. Let us therefore carry it forward with the same spirit of partnership that brought us here, and build a financial system that is more resilient, more competitive, and better prepared for the future. Thank you, and God bless Ghana.