and impact adversely on economic conditions. • in other words, the provisioning of foreign exchange cover for repatriation of multi - national corporations ( mncs ) dividends and non - resident investors ’ coupon payments, bond maturities and energy - related debt repayments exerts significant foreign exchange pressures. for instance, one of the triggers in the recent exchange rate volatility we experienced was the early redemption and coupon repayments of foreign denominated domestic bonds. these developments reinforce ghana ’ s external vulnerability conditions which invariably results in sharp currency movements which impacts inflation and remains a challenge to monetary policy formulation. • the recent inflation uptick from 9 % in january to 9. 5 % in april 2019 was largely attributed to the pass - through effects of the recent currency depreciation on non - food inflation. structural rigidities and supply - side constraints • the external vulnerability issues highlight the issues of structural rigidities that would need to be addressed alongside ensuring sound macroeconomic condition to ensure exchange rate stability. issues such as pursuing export diversification, increasing local content, stepping - up domestic production, managing services and income outflows by mncs, will all have to be addressed head - on. most of these structural issues are not in the domain of monetary policy, but could pose challenges for monetary policy conduct. • structural reforms such as the government ’ s industrialization drive under the ‘ ghana beyond aid ’ agenda to improve the manufacturing base of the economy, diversify the structure of the economy and create employment opportunities to increase production should be vigorously pursued. • further, the on - going digitization of service delivery processes in the economy will help improve the business environment of the country. other complementary reforms and institutional page | 5 arrangements to further improve the business environment and ease production bottlenecks should be pursued to facilitate growth. conclusion 10. distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by stating that the importance of maintaining macroeconomic stability and ensuring an efficient and robust banking sector are critical to our monetary policy implementation processes. the bank of ghana will continue to play its role in ensuring that the economic conditions are conducive to support private sector investment and business growth in the country. thank you. page | 6

targets or the wrong incentives, exposes depositors and creditors to unnecessary risk and can wipe out capital very rapidly. banks should therefore evolve strategies to attain high performance within acceptable risk levels. lessons for the regulatory bodies did the regulatory bodies go to sleep while the nigerian banks and their american counterparts went on the lending spree? i really do not think so although i believe that regulators could have done better. the implication is that this crisis may have been due more to a knowledge gap in the regulatory regime rather than lax regulation. recently, alan greenspan, former chairman of the federal reserve board, noted that “ you cannot legislate against greed, neither can you regulate greed ”. when greedy people see an opportunity to make money that looks “ easy ” it is difficult to stand in their way. this may be comforting but it does not relieve the regulator of the responsibility of being the “ guard dog ” of the public. regulators therefore have to sit up and become more proactive in the discharge of their regulatory functions. it is not enough to react to crisis ; the aim must be to pre - empt them. the bog is focused to deal with any potential crisis in the banking sector. we expect our counterparts, the securities and exchange commission ( sec ) and the national insurance commission to also re - position themselves for the challenges that lie ahead for a well capitalized financial system. association of regulators conclusion there is no doubt that the recapitalization programme is the right step to take by the bog as this will make banks more resilient and thereby engender healthy competition among them. re - capitalized banks also have the potential to accelerate the rate of economic growth and development of the country. however, to ensure that the synergy it promises is fully realized, and to mitigate post - recapitalization challenges, adequate steps should be taken to entrench good risk management practices in banks. in conclusion, let us remind ourselves again that risk management is a corporate culture and everyone has a role to play in the process. the role of boards and senior management is critical in ensuring that the key risks, both present and foreseeable, are identified and effectively mitigated. with concerted efforts from all parties, an effective risk management process will enable banks to minimize financial losses, and optimize business practices, in order to respond to the changing business environment. thank you all for the attention.