Confidence in banking sector must be earned – Bawumia tells Bankers

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says confidence in the Banking sector of Ghana cannot be purchased by sector players but can only be earned through the policies and measures they put in place.

Addressing members of the Chartered Institute of Banks at their 22nd National Banking Conference at the Accra International Conference Centre, the Vice President said “confidence in the banking sector is an intangible asset, its like fresh air, when it is there you take it for granted, you just keep breathing until someone fouls the air and then you are gasping. All of a sudden, you are looking for that confidence and it becomes so important to get that fresh air back. Confidence can be very fragile, confidence resides in our principal agents, the deposits or liability holders and we cannot buy confidence but we can rather earn it collectively as bankers” the Vice President said. He added that “like all good things in the marketplace, there is an effective price of confidence. It is determined by the track record of fairness, transparency, accountability and ethical behaviour of Banks on the one hand and an effective regulatory regime on the other”.

Financial Stability Council

The Vice President in his address disclosed that President Akufo Addo will in the coming weeks announce a Financial Stability Council. The Council according to the Vice President will assist in the effective maintenance of stability in the fiscal space of the country. Dr. Bawumia admonished Banks in the country to look at the business models and the profitability drivers of the business of Banking from best practices. He also invited banks to examine their credit risk policies given the rising levels of non performing loans in the banking industry today. Banks according to the Vice President should not take their eyes off improving their capital adequacy ratio as well as carefully assessing their deposit structures in relation to the loans they give out.

The Chartered Institute of Bankers

The Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana – CIB (Gh) was registered in 1978 under the Professional Bodies Decree of 1973 (NRCD 143) with 30 professional members and 11 corporate members. Having successfully carried a diligent expansion programme, the Institute can now boast of 26 corporate members, 574 professional members and over 5,000 student members.
In 1980, the Institute started to strengthen its capacity to take over the organization of the Associateship Examinations from the London Institute by conducting the Stage 1 Examinations on its own. The localization process was completed in 1993. Currently, the Institute has embarked on a Compulsory Continuous Professional Development for its members and would soon start a first degree programme with Sheffield Hallam University.

The Institute serves as a professional body for banks and financial institutions with an aim to provide stimulus for the development of competent and more qualified human resources that will enable the banks to offer efficient and competitive services to meet modern-day sophisticated demands and satisfaction. Its course content and structure is streamlined along the requirements of Alliance of African Institutes of Bankers (AAIOB) for global recognition. CIB (Gh) is also a member of World Conference of Banking Institute (WCBI).