all the regulatory measures implemented over the last three and half years to maintain confidence and safeguard financial stability. over the next three years, in the aftermath of the pandemic, the bank of ghana 38 | p a g e will carefully unwind the countercyclical measures implemented and allow the financial system to function without the regulatory forbearance put into place due to the pandemic. banks themselves will have to remain vigilant, upgrade staff capabilities, and improve the governance and risk culture. the bank of ghana is optimistic that with this approach, a resilient and capable financial sector will weather the storms brought about by the pandemic and ensure soundness of the industry. 42. ladies and gentlemen, prior to the pandemic, the government initiated and implemented policies including the national financial inclusion and development strategy, the digital financial services policy, and the cash - lite roadmap, with an overall objective of deepening financial inclusion and accelerating the shift to digital payments in the country. the significant progress made in this area has significantly helped in the fight against the pandemic with an exponential growth in the volumes and values of the digital payment platforms in ghana. promoting financial technology has already been at the forefront of the bank of ghana ’ s agenda and we will continue 39 | p a g e to invest in the supportive infrastructure, improve on the regulatory environment, as well as contain all the associated risks to help achieve financial inclusiveness and digital financial transactions to support the national objective. conclusion 43. in closing, fellow alumni, let me leave you with some food for thought. first, after almost four years of prudent management of ghanaian economy, the covid - 19 external shock has partly reversed the progress made on the macroeconomic stability front. so far, the fiscal costs, in terms of stimulus package deployed to moderate the adverse socioeconomic consequences on the households and businesses, is estimated at over gh¢11. 2 billion. if you add the financial sector costs and the energy sector costs raises the estimate of the financial burden from these three sources alone to gh¢24 billion. as at half year it was estimated that government paid gh¢4. 7 billion in excess capacity payments in the energy sector. this has 40 | p a g e pushed the debt / gdp ratio above the threshold for the market access countries. 44. going forward, difficult decisions will have to be taken to reorganize public finances and expenditure priorities while exploring more

fit to be a director, a significant shareholder, or a key page | 7 management personnel in a regulated institution. our initial assessment shows that these directives are already shaping the corporate governance structures within the banking industry as we continue to ensure full compliance. 14. the industry ’ s effort at reducing the high levels of non - performing loans is gradually taking shape, partly due to compliance with the loan write - off directive. we expect further improvements in asset quality with the appropriate disclosures of loan write - offs in banks ’ year - end published financial statements. the draft credit reporting regulations and the draft borrowers and lenders bill are in their final stages. when completed and passed by parliament, these pieces of legislation should help improve the credit underwriting process and facilitate enforcement of loan and collateral agreements by banks and other regulated institutions. 15. madam president, banks have adopted and are implementing the global credit risk management and financial reporting standards. currently, the quarterly financial publications of banks are reported in line with ifrs 9, using the expected credit loss standard. this is improving on credit risk management frameworks and enabling banks effectively measure risks embedded in their credit portfolio. the full impact and benefits page | 8 of this new standard in our credit administration process is expected to materialise in the coming year. 16. to improve on the compliance and risk governance within the banking sector, the bank of ghana during the year issued the final capital requirement directive for compliance which will become effective in january 2019, coinciding with the completion of the increased minimum capital requirement for the industry. banks are currently in the parallel - run phase which ends in december 2018. the banking supervision department is working with the industry to ensure that all the challenges faced by banks are resolved for a smooth transition to the full implementation of the basel ii / iii pillar 1 capital measurement ( capital adequacy ). 17. madam president, the fight against financial crime in our industry and the entire financial system received a major boost this year when the central bank in collaboration with other sector agencies of government, launched the cyber and information security directive ( cisd ), and also opened the bank ’ s security operations centre ( soc ), during the national cyber security awareness month celebrations in october. among others, the cisd provides a framework for establishing cyber and information security protocols, establishment of reporting page | 9 mechanisms and physical security measures for it data centres and control rooms, and assurance of data and network security. the directive contains an implementation schedule for banks and