kwesi bekoe amissah - arthur : inauguration of the board of directors of the central securities depository ghana limited address by dr kwesi bekoe amissah - arthur, governor of the bank of ghana, at the inauguration of the board of directors of the central securities depository ghana limited, accra, 9 september 2010. * * * mr. chairman, deputy governor, advisors, heads of department and members of staff of the bank of ghana members of the media ladies and gentlemen on behalf of the central bank, let me welcome you to the inauguration of the governing board of the central securities depository ghana limited. over the past few years, the bank of ghana has launched a number of initiatives to modernize the payments, clearing and settlement systems. among them are : ( i ) the real time gross settlement system, ( ii ) the cheque codeline clearing ( ccc ) with truncation, and ( iii ) the national switch and smartcard payment system, popularly known as e - zwich. these are key initiatives in the banka€™s drive to reduce the reliance on cash - based transactions and improve the efficiency of the payments system. along with reforms of the banking and payment systems, the bank of ghana also has been active in improving the safety and efficiency of investments. an important initiative in this regard was the establishment of the collateral registry which registers collaterals created by borrowers to secure credit facilities. then there is the central securities depository. the central securities depository was established in november 2004 as part of the quest to make ghana an attractive investment destination. for almost six years now the csd has been working without fanfare as a unit of the bank of ghana. we have decided to outdoor it today. we are in, effect, weaning the csd off the mainstream bank of ghana coverage. the csd has facilitated the electronic issue and redemption of government securities. interest and maturity processing have been enhanced and investors are assured of the proceeds on their investments in a cost effective and timely manner. the csd helps to reduce settlement risk thus ensuring that investors have the confidence on the market. however, we recognize that the csd is at an infant stage and will need to be complimented to be able to synchronize funds and securities settlements. this requires that the settlement systems ( the gis and the depository ) are linked for processing with minimal human intervention. in complying with the requirements of the central securities

sustained. achieving macroeconomic stability takes deliberate policies, sacrifices and resources which if not sustained, can easily unravel. i believe page | 2 this is one of the reasons why we have gathered here to get a sense of the policy direction needed to sustain the stable macro environment, going forward. 5. your excellency, i can report that under your leadership, the policies that we put into place in 2017 are yielding the right results. the economic indicators are good in terms of inflation, external account balances, reserves, gdp growth and business confidence. we have not only made significant gains in stability through prudent monetary and fiscal policies but also in regulatory and structural reforms, especially in the banking sector. this is key to unlocking the financial sector ’ s capacity to intermediate efficiently with increased access to credit in support of the country ’ s growth agenda. indeed, the thrust of current debate is not only about sustainability but also about scaling up broad - based growth for poverty reduction and increased employment. what can be done to consolidate the gains we have made and transition to high and durable growth without putting stability at risk? 6. i will not try to answer these questions but briefly note that sustaining macroeconomic stability, increasing access to credit, providing good infrastructure, having strong regulatory frameworks, and most importantly developing a skilled workforce are all necessary conditions that create the conducive environment for job creation and inclusive growth. your excellency, for us at the bank of ghana the outlook from the monetary policy perspective is to try to understand the nature of the trade - offs between monetary stabilisation, that is, stabilizing inflation at low page | 3 levels – perhaps reviewing our medium - term target to a lower level, and economic growth. 7. monetary policy will remain vigilant to deal with inflation pressures should they emerge. further, the bank of ghana has taken steps to build reserve buffers, to address potential risks from the external or domestic sectors. currently, the country ’ s gross international reserves is estimated at around us $ 8 billion and expected to increase with additional inflows from the cocoa syndicated loan. we are also deepening the foreign exchange market through the introduction of new products to improve liquidity and ensure stability in the local currency. 8. mr. president, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, beyond these broad policy objectives, i believe some of the pertinent issues that should help entrench macroeconomic stability and allay fears of the investment community and private