annual dinner of the chartered institute of bankers ( ghana ) address by dr. ernest addison governor, bank of ghana accra marriot hotel december 01, 2018 page | 1 madam president of the chartered institute of bankers, president of the ghana association of bankers, executive secretary of ghana association of bankers, ceos of banks, colleague bankers and banking students, invited guests, members of the press, distinguished ladies and gentlemen 1. good evening. all too soon, a year has passed by and we are once again gathered for this special occasion which brings together all the distinguished professionals in this very unique profession. thank you for the invitation to this dinner and to address the institute of bankers at the end of a week - long of activities marking “ bankers ” week. it has now become a tradition for the governor of the bank to talk about the developments in the banking and financial sector, the economy and the outlook for the ensuing year, and i will like to continue that tradition tonight. this will be the second time that i am doing so. 2. we thank the almighty god for seeing us through another year where we have worked together as stakeholders to shape the future of banking in our dear nation. a lot has been achieved and a lot more remains to be done to position the banking sector as the catalyst for the accelerated socio - economic growth that all ghanaians desire. page | 2 3. let me take the opportunity to welcome new members of our fraternity. in particular, i welcome consolidated bank ghana limited, and all new or incoming managing directors, executive and non - executive directors, and senior management. we say akwaaba and we look forward to you playing your part as we together build this industry for future generations. to the outgoing executves or officers, i say ayeekoo for your contributions to the industry and we wish you well in your future endeavours. 4. madam president, our industry is one of the key pillars essential to the realization of the high aspirations for development of the ghanaian people. the sustainability of the banking industry is critical to the vision. as such, all stakeholders must work to ensure that banks operate within an enabling environment that supports them to carry out their financial intermediation function. 5. madam president, a year ago when i first addressed this gathering, we were faced with many challenges in the financial sector and had begun a process of introducing reforms that would be needed to build resilience. the reforms aimed at strengthening the sector to become strong, solid,

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