mobile money @ 10 - stakeholder workshop dr. maxwell opoku - afari first deputy governor bank of ghana thursday, july 11, 2019 kempinski gold coast hotel, accra honourable minister of finance distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen good morning 1. thank you for the invitation and it is a pleasure to join you today at this workshop which also celebrates ten years of mtn mobile money. the chosen theme “ a decade of driving financial inclusion and socioeconomic development – the impact of momo ” is broadly aligned with the bank of ghana ’ s strategy to widen the scope of mobile money transactions and in so doing promote financial inclusion in the economy. over the past ten years, mtn has been a pacesetter in the mobile money space with the introduction of innovative financial products and services to their clients. i am sure this workshop will among others provide an opportunity for mtn to share insights on its successes within the mobile money space. 2. ladies and gentlemen, the bank of ghana has undertaken several reforms to deepen financial intermediation and promote financial inclusiveness for broad - based economic growth. more recently, the bank has taken advantage of the rapid technological advances and widespread use of mobile money to accelerate the country ’ s migration to electronic payments so as to expand the scope of financial services to all and sundry. consequently, the bank worked towards achieving a more diversified financial system which meets the needs of various consumers and businesses. 3. the start of these developments dates back to 2007 when the payment infrastructure was established, that is, the ghana interbank payment and settlement systems. this was further enhanced with supportive structures such as the real time gross settlement system ( rtgs ), the electronic central securities depository ( csd ), the automated clearing house ( ach ) system and codeline cheque truncation system. 4. considering the rapid growth in mobile money usage within the financial system, the branchless banking guidelines was issued in 2008, and replaced with the guidelines for electronic money issuers in 2015 after a significant policy intervention. this provided the supportive regulatory environment for mobile money services kick started partnerships between banks and non3 bank entities including telecommunication companies to set up subsidiaries to offer mobile money services and deliver innovative financial products and services. 5. the objective was to leverage on the prevailing high mobile phone penetration to deliver affordable financial services to the growing financially excluded segment of the population. these regulatory interventions incentivised telecommunication companies to partner banks in the provision of innovative products, culminating in increased up

the two consecutive years. however, assessment of current economic conditions in the first half of 2013 indicates some growth moderation amid rising inflation. 5. economic conditions broadly remained challenging during the first half of 2013. the developments reflected a slower pace of real sector economic activity during q1 evidenced by a contraction in the real ciea and weak business and consumer sentiments in the quarter. however, economic activity and consumer confidence rebounded in q2 while business confidence continued to be weak. 6. headline inflation has consistently trended upwards in the year on account of significant increases in domestic petroleum products and seasonal food cycle which affects prices. inflation has risen to 11. 8 pct in july 2013 ( new cpi basket ), from 8. 8 pct in december 2012. in addition, inflation expectations by both businesses and consumers remained heightened. 7. on the external front, prices of ghana ’ s key commodities softened which resulted in lower export earnings. this, coupled with moderated import growth, resulted in some bis central bankers ’ speeches improvement in the trade deficit to us $ 1. 2 billion in the first half, compared with a deficit of us $ 1. 3 billion same period last year. 8. while modest gains have been made in broadly stabilizing the foreign exchange market, major vulnerabilities emanating from continuing imbalance in the supply and demand conditions on the market are currently exerting some pressure on the local currency. on a year to date basis, the ghana cedi has cumulatively depreciated by 3. 4 pct against the us dollar, compared to 17. 2 pct depreciation a year earlier. going forward, the bank of ghana stands ready to implement both short term and medium to long term measures to ensure stability in the foreign exchange market. 9. mr. chairman, as we all know, developments in the banking sector showed that banks remained profitable, liquid and well - capitalised, thanks largely to the high interest rate environment that has persisted for some time now. in contrast to low investment yields of 2 pct in global financial markets, banks in ghana on average had roe of over 20 percent and roas of over 5 percent. the capital adequacy ratio ( car ) was about 18 pct, above the prudential limit of 10 pct. asset penetration, measured as the ratio of total assets to gdp, was 40. 5 pct indicating continued deepening of the financial sector in the economy. 10. these notwithstanding