capacity - building program. 5. the bank has also spearheaded the establishment of the central securities depository ( csd ) for electronic documentation of all securities, which ensures virtually instantaneous security of title. it is expected that listings on the stock exchange would migrate to the csd. as banks increasingly engage in universal banking, capital market activities would become important and the integration of the banking and capital market operations would be facilitated by these payment and depository systems. mr. chairman, it is clear that the central bank has been putting in place the payments system infrastructure that would facilitate a competitive, efficient banking sector. and the banks on their part have been introducing new services and modernizing their systems. we notice, however, that competition is not well reflected in the pricing of banks ’ services and there is a general feeling of market participants that banks are over - pricing risks in the economy judged by real interest rate spreads ; this may be as a result of information asymmetry. yet corporate banking responsibility requires that banks deliver 1. efficient services at competitive rates. in view of this, we are working to put in place another piece of infrastructure, the credit reporting bill to underpin the establishment of credit reference bureaux. the draft bill should be passed into law this year. it should facilitate credit risk assessment and foster a culture of repayment of loans. 2. mr. chairman, as we honour banks for excellence, let me at the risk of dampening some of the exuberance on display, by noting that the consumer complaints unit at the bank of ghana has received and dealt with a number of complaints by customers of banks. these complaints normally border on unfair banking practices and include ; high interest charges on loans and overdrafts, high bank charges on transactions, non - payment of interest on savings accounts, delays in crediting interest on treasury bills, and high initial deposit and minimum operating balances. i hope that the recipients of the various awards are not that much guilty of such practices. 3. mr. chairman, global developments in regulation and supervision of banking is shifting to a focus on risk and the holding of commensurate level of capital. basel ii, the new capital framework to be implemented in 2007 by the advanced countries, is a risk - based framework. 4. for our banking system to remain competitive, the players must understand the risks they undertake and be able to measure and manage them profitably. in line with that we are re - orienting our supervisory focus away from

and i must say that in spite of the improvements made through the enforcement of our loan write - off policy, the npl ratio page | 7 remains high at 18. 76 percent as at end march 2019. this level by all measures is not acceptable and more work is needed in this area. the high npl situation has implications for the effectiveness of monetary policy conduct as it acts to impede the transmission mechanism. lending rates will continue to remain high in the midst of high npls with implications on how the private sector responds to macroeconomic conditions in their quest to be innovative and support the real sector of the economy. here, i must say that the role of the judiciary is crucial in the scheme of things and an efficient adjudication of financial sector court cases would be needed. in my opinion, designating special courts and judges to adjudicate matters relating to specific issues arising out of the bank resolutions and revocation of licenses given the public interest, and the enforcement of collateral agreements, will help speed up the process. without an efficient judiciary system that is prepared to deal with cases in a swift and decisive manner, all the work done in sanitizing the banking system will not yield the desired results / expected outcomes. the bank of ghana will continue to track the receivership process to ensure that resolution process yields the appropriate outcomes. page | 8 before i conclude, permit me also to also commend the organizers of this year ’ s ceo summit for a well - timed theme : “ the futuristic economy : technology - driven future of business & governance for economic transformation ”. the bank of ghana recognises that technology remains a key driver of financial development in africa and that is why we are collaborating with the telecommunications and financial technology companies ( fintechs ) to enhance the efficiency of the payments ecosystem and deepen financial inclusion. the successful implementation of the mobile money interoperability ( mmi ) project last year, underscores our quest to leverage on the increasing digital revolution in the financial sector to broaden access to financial services for inclusive growth. the recently - enacted payments system and services act provides opportunities for innovations that will make our payments system more efficient and in tune with the rapidly changing means of doing business, contribute better to improved access to financial services. this new legislation also presents great investment opportunities particularly in the fintech space. the bank of ghana will continue to remain vigilant to all forms of risks and vulnerabilities to the economy and will take appropriate actions to mit