promoting disciplined macroeconomic policies, with the budget and monetary policy playing complementary roles to promote growth with stability. monetary policy is most effective when the public is willing to hold and use the currencies introduced by the bank as legal tender and as a store of their wealth because of confidence that the value will be stable over time – the value is the same – and by implication prices will remain fairly stable as well. but the key here is the credibility of macroeconomic policies. at the time of independence, the banking industry consisted of 3 banks. this has grown over the years to 23 banks with a network of some 600 branches, 123 rural banks, 13 savings and loans companies, as we celebrate this golden jubilee. these operate alongside an array of non - bank financial institutions, insurance companies, and other micro - credit institutions. we now have a banking industry that is reasonably competitive and well capitalized, sound and liquid, having withstood the pressures of rapid disinflation over the past years. your excellency, as we look forward, the bank of ghana has a responsibility to promote the development of a financial system that is effectively integrated and in tune with the global financial market ; and that is capable of providing a diversified range of financial instruments and services to support a dynamic growing economy. the bank is building the nucleus of a payments system infrastructure and a financial system that can develop over time into a vibrant segment of the international financial industry in the west african region, a financial centre of global standards in terms of the quality and incentives built into the regulatory environment, financial institutions and the services they can deliver. this positioning of the industry is even more important in the context where the entire ecowas regional market may well come under a common currency regime, and become a single economic space ; with free mobility of capital, goods and services, and labour. the future of the financial sector should be one that is vibrant and well anchored in price and financial stability, better to serve as a pillar for economic growth towards achieving the millennium development goals and middle income status. this is the theme of the symposium organised as part of these celebrations. your excellency, the quality of public institutions, and for that matter the public service, is an important determinant of the financial sophistication of the state ; and the central bank – the bank of ghana – has a pivotal role in pioneering the process. ghana @ 50 – the nation ’ s golden jubilee – had the theme “ championing african excellence ”

both traditional as well as new business models, according to the risks the activity poses. for example, in the new payment services bill that mas has consulted on, regulatory requirements for payment activities will be differentiated according to the risks that specific activities pose rather than apply a uniform set of regulations on all payment service providers. regulation comes in when the risk posed becomes material or crosses a threshold. the weight of regulation must be proportionate to that risk. singapore is one of the first jurisdictions to have established regulatory sandboxes where firms can experiment their innovative solutions in a contained environment, with access to a limited pool of actual customers. what we will diligently protect is the trust and credibility in our financial system. we will also be paying closer attention to financial institutions ’ management of cyber - threats and to new forms of financial stability vulnerabilities as digitisation blurs the boundaries across geography and industries. recently, we have created an enhanced role of a chief cybersecurity officer as well as appointed a new chief data officer. i believe there is much we can share and learn from other central banks, financial regulators and even law enforcement agencies, such as our european counterparts. looking ahead finally, there are other areas that should matter to all of us amidst the ongoing transformations in the banking industry. one is the important issue of financial inclusion. in the quest to innovate and as banks develop the sophistication to sharpen the profile of each customer, we should not overlook the need for financial inclusion – especially access to basic banking and financial services for under - served communities. another area is in the responsible use of technology tools. earlier this month, mas announced the setting up of a regulator - industry grouping to co - create a guide to promote the responsible and ethical use of ai and data analytics by financial institutions. this committee is known by its acronym feat – which stands for fairness, ethics, accountability and transparency. this gives you a good idea of its mandate. the key is as technology and data analytics usage become more prevalent, the responsible use of these is equally paramount. conclusion to conclude my remarks, allow me to resurrect a quote from a speech by president kennedy in 1966, which i thought is apt even in current times. [ quote ] there is a chinese curse which says ‘ may he live in interesting times ’. like it or not we live in interesting times. they are times of danger and uncertainty ; but they are also more open to the creative energy of men