Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Dr Ernest Addison has said that the central bank remains fully committed to its supervisory role and will ensure that all financial institutions adhere to regulatory requirements and guidelines to foster trust and confidence in the sector.
He says the Bank of Ghana has been engaging with regulated entities regularly over governance and assurance functions, in its quest to remain vigilant to ensure stability of the financial sector.
Strong risk management, Compliance with prudential rules, proper internal audit functions remain crucial to ensure that regulated financial institutions operate soundly, safely, ethically and within regulatory and legal boundaries, he said.
“Issues such as poor credit underwriting standards, high-risk clients, weak risk management procedures, inadequate monitoring systems, and other factors have all contributed to the increased Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) in the subsector over the last few years,” Dr Addison said during the 20th-anniversary dinner of Opprountoty International Savings and Loans in Accra.
Dr Addison further stated that looking ahead, the financial landscape will undoubtedly continue to evolve, and savings and loans companies should be well-positioned to adapt and navigate these changes.
Technological advancement has broadly shifted banking operations to digital platforms on mobile devices.
Savings and loans companies’ subsector can therefore take advantage of these new platforms through collaboration with banks and telecommunication companies to broaden their scope of operations and service offerings to the benefit of our economy.
They must however be aware of the issues of cybersecurity and operational risks that arise therefrom. Cyber attacks such as malware, phishing scams and ransomware attacks can disrupt operations, compromise systems and affect data integrity
