We will continue to hold banks accountable – BoG

Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, has reiterated his outfit’s commitment to holding banks operating in the country accountable.

The central bank says, “we will continue to hold banks accountable. We will ensure the continuous sanity of the sector, and consistently apply the laws applicable to the sector”.

Addressing the audience at the

Read full articlerebranding of Barclays Bank to Absa Bank on Monday, 10 February 2020, Dr Ernest Addison touted the desirable sanity achieved as a result of the banking sector clean-up a few years ago.

“The banking industry has built up a much stronger balance sheet and recorded strong asset growth, improved quality of loans and profitability during the year. All the financial soundness indicators, measured in terms of earnings, liquidity, and capital adequacy remained strong,” said Dr Addison.

He also lauded commercial banks’ compliance with new corporate governance directives issued in the aftermath of the banking sector clean-up.

He explained that the enforcement of the Corporate Governance Directive has led to several board chairs and CEOs of banks ending their tenure, while Board members who had served for prolonged periods have been replaced.

“Results of a recent survey indicate full compliance with requirements of the Corporate Governance Directive on the size, structure, composition and qualification of bank Boards; due diligence in the appointment of key management personnel; and separation of the positions of CEOs and Board Chairs.”

A total of 184 bank directors undertook the mandatory annual Directors’ corporate governance Certification training programme.

Of this number, over 50% have fully completed the programme, while the rest who are at various certification stages will be certified by the deadline of end-March 2020.

Dr Addison said “Let me reiterate that as regulators, we will continue to commit our resources towards ensuring that financial institutions improve their internal controls and risk management systems since the safety and soundness of institutions pivots on these principles. Also, we will continue to create an enabling regulatory environment that encourages innovation in the industry, while ensuring that we continually strengthen our supervisory and enforcement capabilities to ensure sanity in the industry.”