Accra, Nov. 28, - Vice President
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Tuesday, pledged the Government’s commitment to institute
policies and programmes that would propel the country’s vision of becoming the
financial services hub for Africa.
To this end, he said, the
Government would adopt a sustainable approach to financial integration by
developing structures, institutions and human resources.
He said Ghana’s quest for
regional financial integration would be pursued in tandem with the need for
greater private sector integration.
Vice President Bawumia said this
in a keynote address he delivered at the 21st National Banking Conference of
the Chartered Institute of Bankers, in Accra, on the theme: ‘‘Building a Robust
and Sustainable Banking System in Ghana’’.
The event afforded stakeholders
in the banking industry the opportunity to discuss the changing reforms in the
local and international economy in order to make them resilient and robust in
undertaking transactions, as well as being responsive to the needs of their
clients.
It brought together the top
echelon of the financial institutions in the country, who shared their
experiences and ideas aimed at making them competitive and relevant in the
changing banking sector.
The Vice President explained the
Government recognised that before the country could develop and remain
competitive on the global market, certain fundamental measures had to be put in
place, therefore, it started rolling out digitisation programmes.
These include the National
Identification System, National Property Addressing System, the implementation
of the paperless ports project, e-procurement processes, digitisation of the
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority and the digitisation of other state
institutions, to promote financial inclusion, enhance efficiency and minimise
corruption.
He said these were the building
blocks that would improve the country’s resource mobilisation and ensure
operational efficiency.
Dr Bawumia noted :‘‘We need to
have the soft infrastructure to support the banking industry and this is what
is driving the national ID card, digital addressing system and other digital
programmes so that we can trace customers, build a robust referencing regime
and these will be fundamental in reducing interest rate and strengthening the
stability of the banking system’’.
The Vice President announced that
the Government would undertake the digital registration of land titles next
year to boost the mortgage market.
He said the current mortgage
relative to income in the country was the highest in the world and noted that,
this would not help in developing the mortgage market.
He said using property to secure
a loan was important to boost the economy, but there was difficulty in
authenticating property owners, therefore, the digitisation of the land title
registration would help in that regard.
Vice President Bawumia said the
Government had recognised the high interest rate that was bedevilling the
banking industry, therefore, it had instituted prudent policies to ensure sound
fiscal and macroeconomic sustainability that would engender economic growth.
He said high interest rate had
made it difficult for creditors to promptly pay back their loans, which was
adversely affecting the liquidity of financial institutions.
He gave the assurance that, both
the Government and the Central Bank were playing their respective roles of
controlling and ensuring the stability of the fiscal environment.
The Vice President urged banks to
develop innovative products that would rope in the informal sector of the
economy to ensure financial inclusiveness.
‘‘Government is pushing for the
interoperability of the payment system between the telecommunication companies
and banks and hopefully by the middle of next year it will be launched,’’ he
noted.
Vice President Bawumia said the
Government had consolidated the macroeconomic environment with the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) growth moving from 3.7 per cent in 2016 to 7.9 per cent
as projected by the close of the year.
He added that the prudent
economic policies by the Government had reduced the inflation rate, Treasury
Bills, the monetary rate, from 26 per cent to 20 per cent; and inflation rate
from 15.4 to 11.6 per cent respectively.
The Reverend Mrs Patricia Sappor,
the President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, in her welcome address,
said in view of the recent development in the banking industry, there was the
need for renewed emphasis on the recapitalisation of banks to increase their
fiscal capacity to transact bigger ticketing deals while mitigating the
underlying risk.
She said the banking industry had
a significant role to play in building a robust and resilient economy to ensure
the maximisation of the shareholders’ value, protection of the depositors’ fund
and generating profits.
Mrs Sappor urged stakeholders to
act quickly to resolve the outstanding policy pieces and ensure financial
soundness and stability of the financial industry.
She also entreated the Board of
Directors of the banks to play complementary roles and ensure good corporate
governance so that banks would be safe, secure and robust, in order to
withstand shocks in the face of competition.
The Chartered Institute of
Bankers, Ghana, initially called the Ghana Institute of Bankers, started in
1963 as an Association of members who have returned from studies in the United
Kingdom.
It was later registered and
incorporated in 1963 as the Accra Local Centre of the Chartered Institute of
Bankers, United Kingdom.
It aims at providing a forum for
exchange of ideas and regular interactions among members.
GNA
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