johnson p asiama : fifteen years of ghana banking awards – enriching a healthy competitive landscape in the drive for consumer relevance in banking speech by dr johnson p asiama, second deputy governor of the bank of ghana, at the annual banking awards 2016, on the theme “ fifteen years of ghana banking awards – enriching a healthy competitive landscape in the drive for consumer relevance in banking ”, accra, 26 august 2016. * * * mr chairman, captains of industry, executives of the banking industry, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. it is a pleasure for me to join you today for the 15th edition of the ghana banking awards. this event usually serves as a platform where the contributions of the banking sector to the economy could be recognized. it should therefore serve the purpose of stimulating healthy competition among banks which could in turn lead to improvement in the delivery of financial products and services across the industry. this year ’ s theme, “ fifteen years of ghana banking awards : enriching a healthy competitive landscape in the drive for customer relevance in banking ” could not have been better chosen. the theme resonates well with a quote by felix george rohatyn ( an accomplished investment banker ) who said “ … at its core, banking is not simply about profit, but about personal relationships ”. i will come back to say more about these shortly, but permit me, mr. chairman, to thank corporate initiative ghana ( cig ), the organizers of this event for this opportunity. for my address this evening, i will begin with some general conceptual issues relating to the banking scene and then follow - up with some specific matters that touch on the bank of ghana ’ s regulatory and supervisory role. a vibrant and growing banking industry mr. chairman, you will agree with me that the banking industry in ghana has experienced tremendous growth and unprecedented competition over the past 10 years, especially after the adoption of the universal banking concept in 2004. today, banks do not only compete among themselves, but also with non - banking entities such as savings and loans companies, finance houses, rural and community banks and lately microfinance companies. the objective for introducing the universal banking concept was to allow all banks in the country that comply with the prescribed capital requirements the freedom to engage in some or all permissible banking business activities without restrictions. this has resulted in banks penetrating into new and active markets with the view to increasing market share and profitability. it is important to note that banking is a customer - oriented service industry ;

to be able to officiate at august gathering of business and financial writers knowing they are all putting in a more than average effort to attain today ’ s awards. ladies and gentlemen, the top prizes over the last 3 years have been designed to build capacity in the journalists nominated. attachments to top business newspapers in south africa and training our journalists in economics at the university of zambia should give us the comfort that a specialization is being built from which we can confidently tap into and exchange ideas and analysis. one of the challenges for our writers has been a lack of specialization. as such, they have had to understand all subjects broadly rather than in - depth to help them to communicate more authoritatively. as they are being strengthened through various training interventions, we should therefore be able to see a marked improvement in their performance. in this vein, i am told that the american centre and the canadian high commission have also been keen stakeholders in training our journalists in this area and to this end have worked closely with acca over the past two years in delivering one week workshops on key topical areas. the partnerships demonstrate that there are a number of interested stakeholders that all have a common goal – good, reliable and timely information. the announcement of the national budget is round the corner. it is that time of the year when many differing analysis are made. don ’ t take these analyses at face value – examine them in your own right and come up with alternative lines of reasoning so that the public can have a holistic view of the effects of the budget pronouncements. we would indeed expect this for any other economic, business and financial pronouncement. to all the prize winners for 2006, i extend my sincere and heartfelt congratulations for well deserved awards. please remember that it is not enough to only enjoy the glory of the moment, but also to take the responsibility to act as mentors to emergent writers. i believe that what the journalist fraternity needs is not individuals who excel alone, but a cadre of responsible reporters that leave an outstanding legacy. let me also take this opportunity to thank acca, the sponsors of this event and prizes for their continuing support to economic, business and financial journalism. in conclusion, allow me to encourage our journalists to compete for international media awards as well. this will be the true barometer of where you stand as zambian journalists because you will be judged against international best practice which is, in turn, the true barometer in global economy. as your patron,