it has proven its effectiveness in resolving difficult matters in a swift and efficient manner, keeping in mind the common goal of ensuring the timely and successful launch of t2s. in the past few weeks the commitment of those forming the t2s governance structure has become apparent once more. you might have heard some rumours that the t2s platform was not stable enough to go live. however, the reality is that the platform has been declared stable and ready to go live both by the t2s board in charge of steering the project and by the central securities depositories in the steering body ( the t2s csd steering group ). we are conscious that t2s will have an immense impact on the financial market and it is of key importance for us that the migration goes smoothly. after assessing the status of the platform – its stability and readiness for production mode – i can assure you that it is ready for the migration and launch this coming weekend. however, going live requires more than just the eurosystem being ready ; we also need the migrating communities to be ready. the first t2s migration wave was to include five securities depositories and their communities : bank of greece securities settlement system ( bogs ), depozitarul central ( romania ), malta stock exchange, monte titoli ( italy ) and six sis ( switzerland ). four out of those five markets, namely greece, malta, romania and switzerland, have confirmed their readiness to migrate as scheduled on 22 june 2015. as far as the italian market is concerned, a solution has been put forward which has eased the strong discomfort that has recently been signalled by the italian banks regarding migration on 22 june 2015. following a formal request by monte titoli, the italian securities depository, it and its community will be given an extended period of testing and will migrate only on 31 august bis central bankers ’ speeches 2015. this solution will not only help the italian market, but will also ensure that difficulties in one market cannot spill over to other markets and have implications for the financial market as a whole. this proposal has been discussed within the governance structure and is supported by the remaining securities depositories joining t2s. a detailed activity plan is now being developed for the migration of the italian market on 31 august 2015 and the possible impact on the scheduled activities for the subsequent migration waves is being assessed. this solution for the migration of the italian market is due to be approved by the ecb ’ s governing council tomorrow. harmon

in operation ( soon to be 27 ), half of which are foreign controlled and the remainder ghanaian controlled. 22. the size of the balance sheet of the banking system continues to expand. total assets increased by 35. 2 percent in october 2010 on a year on year basis to gh¢16. 3 billion while total deposits rose by 37. 2 percent on an annual basis to gh¢10. 8 billion at the end of october 2010. the banking industry ’ s branch network continues to expand, and currently exceed 700 nationwide. 23. it is interesting to note however, that the growth in total asset was driven largely by the relatively new banks in the system. asset concentration in the few big banks has continuously declined, reflecting the intense competitive environment under which banks are operating. the industry also recorded a capital adequacy ratio ( car ) of 25. 6 per cent in october, comfortably above the minimum requirement of 10 percent. 24. we believe that the banking sector is growing at a fast pace alongside deepening financial intermediation. however, recomputed financial sector indicators using the rebased gdp figures show that there is substantial room for improvement. for instance, as at end october 2010, total assets of the industry constituted about 64 percent of “ old ” gdp, but only 36 per cent of new gdp indicating that our financial sector is not as deep as we imagined. similarly, other indicators of the banking industry in terms of gdp may turn out to be lower than previously estimated meaning that collectively, we must intensify efforts to deepen the financial sector to match the status of a middle income country. 25. one critical issue that has proved rather challenging for the banking industry and the broader economy this year has been high bank lending rates and its effect on access to credit. traditionally, a low inflation and low interest rate environment is expected to ease credit conditions and stimulate economic growth. contrary to this expectation, the response of lending rates within the banking sector to the monetary easing by the bank of ghana has been sluggish. 26. the annual percentage rates ( aprs ) which reveal actual lending rates in the financial sector indicates that the average base rate charged on borrowing by enterprises ranged between 27. 5 percent and 38 percent at the end of august. by all standards, these rates are high and have instigated tight credit conditions in the economy for most part of this year. some of the underpinning factors that the banks claim to have contributed to this situation include the