##¢6, 548. 63 million a year earlier. 8. mr. chairman, despite the growth in total assets, some s & l companies continue to be faced with poor asset quality, solvency and liquidity challenges. indeed, as regulators, we have observed some worrying trends which require the attention of all stakeholders. in addition to liquidity and solvency issues, several financial soundness indicators of the industry have adversely deviated from accepted statutory and prudential benchmarks. these outcomes are primarily due to the business models adopted by some ( not all ) s & ls, by essentially attracting term - deposit funding at unsustainably - high costs and deploying such funding into risky assets without adequate risk management systems to manage and monitor the inherent risk exposures. poor credit underwriting practices, poor loan recoveries, insider dealings and related party transactions, weak governance and concentration in ownership structures among others, have all contributed to the capital illiquidity and solvency challenges in the s & l sector. 9. what is more, some institutions within the s & l sub - sector shifted from financing the lower - tier retail end of the market towards financing the wholesale end, or simply placing funds with other s & ls. these practices have increased concentration risks in the sector, which impact negatively on financial stability. 10. given these challenges in the sector, i must commend the ghasalc for spearheading efforts to re - evaluate and realign the business models of its member institutions, at this annual general meeting. this will help improve to reposition the sector and regain the trust and confidence of the public. 11. i urge the executives of this association to continue to lead the process of reengineering this sector, and in so doing, to help to refocus the business models of its members towards realigning themselves with the policy objective of financial inclusion for which savings and loans licences were issued. i would also urge you to collectively work towards finding the balance between profit - making and protection of depositor funds, underpinned by strong corporate governance, prudent business practices, and high ethical standards. investments in appropriate technology and good human resources are also critical to helping the sector reposition itself to drive financial inclusion, improve efficiency and lower transaction costs for s & ls and their customers. 12. ladies and gentlemen, it is only such steps are taken that we can expect to see a sustainable savings and loans sector,

advantage of technological changes, innovations and provide a broader regulatory environment for competitive delivery of innovative payment solutions in the country. 9. the improvement in ghana ’ s digital payment systems are also supportive of online transactions aimed at financial inclusion. available data show significant progress in the deployment of electronic payments such as mobile money, payment cards, payment apps, direct debit and credit funds transfer, instant retail payments and virtual cards as alternatives to cash. in particular, mobile money transactions have grown by leaps and bounds. active mobile money accounts has jumped from in 345, 434 in 2010 to over 13 million subscribers with value of transactions of about gh¢223. 2 billion in 2018. 10. distinguished ladies and gentlemen, in spite of the digital revolution and rising use of electronic payments and digital currencies, we continue to see cash dominating transactions across several of our countries within the sub - saharan african region. undeniably, cash still remains the preferred medium of payment by the large informal sector, although trends are gradually shifting towards mobile money in ghana. thus, while making progress in financial inclusion by accelerating the migration to e - payment platforms, we are also mindful of the relevance of cash in our day - to - day dealings. this is why we must commit to the on - going currency feature enhancements and management of cash in circulation. page | 5 11. in this regard, the bank of ghana will continue to monitor the quality of substrates and features of the ghana cedi and take appropriate actions to make the cedi an all - time secured currency. special attention is being devoted to improve the features to make it more resilient to counterfeiting threats and facilitate data collection for cash life cycle analysis of the banknotes. the central bank will also conduct sustained currency awareness campaigns to educate the public on the proper handling of banknotes. 12. distinguished ladies and gentlemen, this seminar provides opportunities for participants to deliberate on currency management and operational issues. a cursory glance at the conference agenda indicates a very tight programme starting off with a closed door central bank workshop on substrate for banknote manufacturing. this would be followed by the plenary sessions on topics such as, ● ethical principles in central banks, ● crypto currencies – the real threats, challenges and future technologies, ● big data and the life cycle of the banknotes, ● the changing role of cits, ● cash handling and circulation models, and ● efficient co - existence of cash and digital payments 13. i can