calbank ltd offical opening of new head office building speech delivered by dr. ernest addison governor, the bank of ghana may 22, 2019 your excellency the president of the republic : nana addo dankwa akufo - addo, honourable ministers, the clergy and chiefs, the board chairman and directors of calbank, senior management and staff, distinguished invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning, 1. it gives me great pleasure to be here today for the official launching of this new state - of - the - art head office for calbank limited, and for the opportunity to make a few remarks on this occasion. 2. i am delighted because this commissioning signals what a local indigenous bank can achieve with commitment and hard work by its dedicated workforce. i have no doubt in my mind that this office space has a cutting edge technology that incorporates accessibility, safety and functionality for both staff and customers. 3. mr. chairman, the overall contribution of calbank ltd to the banking industry in ghana is not in doubt. it remains one of the domestically controlled flagship banks with strong performance in asset growth and profitability. starting off as a merchant bank in the 1990 ’ s and transitioning to a universal bank in 2004, calbank has exhibited strong growth over the years with an increasing number of branches and several atms across the country. 4. mr. chairman, financial services remain crucial in promoting economic growth and reducing poverty. it is in this regard that the bank of ghana has taken some tough decisions to sanitize the financial sector over the past two years. the objective is to position the sector as a major growth driver, to support the much needed economic transformation of ghana. 5. mr. chairman, our banking system is becoming stronger by the day, as the core financial soundness indicators ( fsis ) suggest that the soundness and stability of the banking sector significantly improved in the first quarter of 2019, reflecting gains from the comprehensive set of reforms introduced by the bank of ghana in 2017 and 2018. 6. the solvency position of the sector improved on the back of the recapitalization of the banking sector and orderly resolution of distressed institutions. as a result, the capital adequacy ratio of the banking sector, which deteriorated into the worst category by june 2017, significantly improved to above 20 percent in march 2019. 7. the banking system remains profitable with a first quarter of strong after - tax income of gh¢825. 96 million compared with

act, 2004 ( act 663 ), internal audit agency act, 2004 ( act 658 ) and the financial administration act. to reinforce these moves in order to mitigate the incidence of fraud of all sorts, other bills which contain clauses touching on financial fraud are at various stages of becoming law. the key ones are : anti - money laundering bill, electronic transaction bill, computer misuse bill ( to support electronic banking ) and credit reporting bill. mr. chairman, apart from the bog ’ s collaboration with government in facilitating financial law - making the bog has over the years initiated a number of financial fraud interventions that should be of interest to this forum. there exists a fruitful collaboration between the bog and the law enforcement agencies in financial crime prevention and prosecution. similarly, the banks in ghana have shown invaluable understanding and co - operation with the bog in enforcing the know your customer policy guidelines, in order to weed out suspicious characters from the banking system. above all, the bog ’ s in - house investigation and consumer reporting office handles public complaints that touch on various matters including alleged financial frauds. i should hasten to add that the bog co - operates with international financial institutions in fighting the cross - boarder aspects of financial fraud. mr. chairman, i am convinced that the most critical tool that can be used to combat financial fraud in our environment is collaboration within constitutional and statutory bounds among all the institutions of the state that have a part to play in the detection, investigation and prosecution of financial frauds in every aspect of our national lives. in the sphere of banking, you would agree with me that the supervisor is the frontline investigator, which solely or in co - operation with the directors of banks complain to the police or serious fraud office for further action, where necessary. by this approach, the letter and spirit of the constitution which created all the investigators will be upheld. mr. chairman, i wish to end on the note that financial fraud has always been and will continue to be a topical issue in the financial world. while i urge investigators to continuously review their investigative procedures to cope with the level of sophistication associated with present - day financial fraud, i recommend that the courts be made part of such seminars in order for us all to benefit from the interdisciplinary discussions that take place. the speedy delivery of justice and decisions of the courts are critical to our effectiveness in combating fraud. i thank you for your attention.