Govt working to ensure safe, secure banking sector

The government is working to ensure that the banking sector is safe and secure, an Economic Advisor to the Minister of Finance, Mr Sampson Akilgoh, has said.

“The systems we have put in place so far have protected the system and we will continue to be vigilant to ensure that the sector is safe", he added.

Mr Akilgoh made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of a quiz held as part of the Capital Market Week celebrations in Accra.

The week was organised by the Ghana Securities Industry Association (GSIA) on the theme: “Transforming the Capital Market through Better Corporate Governance.”

Corporate governance

In the wake of the collapsing banks, Mr Akilgoh said efforts by the government over the past few months were to guard the system and ensure that depositors were protected.

He mentioned stronger corporate governance as one sure way of strengthening the banking sector.

For this reason, he said when adhered to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) directives on guidelines to streamline corporate governance in the banking and finance sector to support existing ones would go a long way to make the sector robust.

In March this year, the BoG issued Corporate Governance Directives for Banks and Specialised Deposit institutions regulated under the Banks & Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).

As part of the new Corporate Governance Directives, the BoG has specifically defined the roles of each board member, their tenure and age-limit, and board structure, among others.

Building capacities

Mr Akilgoh further indicated that the banks also needed to build their capacities to understand and asses risk management in the banking industry.

The Executive Secretary of the association, Ms Marian Dsane, said the celebration of the capital week was to create awareness of the role of the capital market in economic development.

“The capital market week celebration has been set aside to create awareness of the capital market as the avenue for creating financial wealth and accessing of long term capital, which are necessary for Ghana's economic growth and development,” she added.

She said the increasing size of the current market required robust regulation and strong industry leadership by way of good governance and best practices, hence the chosen theme.

Ms Dsane said the quiz and debate at the tertiary level would also help to educate the young ones on investment.