- handedly finance most oil - related transactions. in the absence of a workable syndication system in the industry, the central bank has often had to flout its own rules in risk management. this practice cannot continue. the new banking bill has eliminated the clause that allows the central bank to grant these waivers. banks that want to undertake transactions that cannot be supported by their balance sheets must either seek syndication partners or begin to look for commensurate capital to support such transactions. bis central bankers ’ speeches allow me now, mr. chairman, to turn to a sector that has been the backbone of ghana ’ s economy for years but receives minimal bank credit – i. e. the agriculture sector. mr. chairman, i am happy to say that the banks, together with the bank of ghana, have agreed to set up an equity fund dedicated to developing this sector – particularly the rice, maize and poultry sub - sectors. we look forward to the equity fund becoming operational in 2015. conclusion in conclusion, mr. chairman, the relatively unfriendly macroeconomic conditions that existed in the first half of the year is seeing a turnaround. on the real sector, even though energy sector challenges adversely impacted economic activity, the latest business and consumer surveys point to improvements in both business and consumer sentiments. the banking industry has been resilient and profitable in the year, albeit amidst pockets of vulnerabilities. to address these vulnerabilities, the bank of ghana will continue to create the enabling business and regulatory environment for the industry to flourish to support economic growth and job creation. in support of this process, mr. chairman, the bank of ghana will roll out the policies and initiatives outlined earlier, and others not mentioned here as we deem necessary. we count on your usual cooperation in getting the desired outcomes from these policies and initiatives. the bog will also continue to regularly engage with you to share ideas on emerging trends, including on the regulatory landscape. ghana, as a member of international bodies such as the imf, is committed to developing its financial sector in line with international standards. to this effect, the bog will continue to require banks in ghana to adopt international best practice in their operations and stop seeking regulatory forbearance at the earliest sign of distress. i thank you all for listening. enjoy your meal and i wish you a merry christmas and a prosperous new year in advance. bis central bankers ’ speeches

and protect against the temptation of secession. but as such transfers are not foreseen within the euro area, this model does not apply for us. we need a different approach to ensure that each country is permanently better off within the union than outside – and it entails two minimum requirements. the first is that all euro area countries need to be able to thrive independently. this means that every economy has to be flexible enough to find and exploit their comparative advantages, so as to benefit from the single market. they have to be able to allocate resources efficiently and create a dynamic business environment, so that their economies can attract capital and generate enough jobs. and they also have to be flexible enough to respond quickly to short - term shocks, including through adjustment of wages or reallocating resources across sectors. this is particularly important because, due to cultural barriers, labour mobility offers only a limited escape valve from high local unemployment in the euro area – at least compared with more homogenous unions like the us. certainly, greater cross - country mobility would be welcome, and we should encourage measures that facilitate it. but research suggests that it is unlikely that cross - country migration flows will ever become a key driver of labour market adjustment after large shocks. 4 and no country will thrive anyway if its population deserts it. the second implication that follows from not having fiscal transfers is that emu countries need to invest more in other mechanisms to share the cost of shocks. many shocks can be preempted by the right policies. but for those that cannot, internal adjustment will generally be slower than if countries were able to adjust relative prices instantly through their own exchange rate. in these circumstances, some form of crosscountry risk - sharing is essential to help reduce adjustment costs for those countries and prevent recessions from leaving deep and permanent scars. in our case this means deepening financial integration in ways that improve private risksharing – that is, through having more diversified financial portfolios that can spread risk and reward across regions, and more integrated credit markets that can smooth consumption patterns. and it means ensuring that the conditions are in place so that all countries can retain full use of national fiscal policy as a counter - cyclical buffer. let me explain these various points, and their implications, in some more detail. cross - country transfers exist as part of the eu cohesion policy. these funds are however of a limited size and are primarily designed to support the “ catching - up ” process in lower income countries