"Banking sector reform yielding positive results" - Prez Akufo-Addo

“BANKING SECTOR REFORM YIELDING POSITIVE RESULTS” – PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says the prudent measures taken by his administration and the Bank of Ghana to save and sanitise the banking sector are beginning to yield positive results.

Speaking at the formal opening of the new head office building of the Cal Bank, on Wednesday, 22nd May, 2019, President Akufo-Addo stated that “at the end of the first quarter of 2019, the banking industry performance in total assets, total deposits and net loans and advances, all saw positive growth.”

According to the March 2019 Banking Sector Report of the Bank of Ghana, “an assessment of the banking sector’s performance during the first two months of 2019 showed a well-capitalized, profitable, liquid and stable sector with strong prospects for increased financial intermediation.”

From the above, the President stated that “it is evident that the measures we took saved the banking industry from a very dire situation, characterised by the existence of several weakly capitalized banks, with balance sheets encumbered by a multitude of low performing loans, pursuing bad business models with poor governance practices, and, largely, non-existent central bank regulation.”

These measures, he stressed, saved not only the deposits of some 1.5 million Ghanaians, their businesses and the people they employed, but also minimised job losses in the banking sector.

Describing the new head office building as an impressive piece of architecture, President Akufo-Addo thanked the bank for being an integral part of Ghana’s economic story over the last three decades, and has proven itself to be a solid bank.

Government, the President said, will continue to work and build a durable financial sector, with Ghanaian banks, hopefully, leading the charge.
“We will work with financial institutions and regulators to promote digital finance and mobile money usage, and, thereby, formalise the Ghanaian economy,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo continued, “Already, mobile money penetration in Ghana is the second highest in Africa, and, with reforms to our payment system, we anticipate that Ghana will have a strong competitive edge in the region for financial innovation and access to credit. We are also working hard to reduce interest rates, and our efforts have yielded some modest successes.”

See photos of the opening ceremony: