Dr Johnson Asiama
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Asiama, says financial technology (Fintech) could become a major source of threat to the financial sector if the country fails to regulate its operations.
The Governor who made this known at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, in Washington D.C said the Bank of Ghana is already working to improve supervision of the digital financial space.
He said, “We did not have fintechs those days, but I believe that if not handled properly, risk could emerge in that area going forward. We are mending the legislation there as well to safeguard financial stability
Dr. Asiama explained that his broader vision for the central bank is to be “ready and able to adapt” to emerging global financial risks.
“It is critical today. It could be something else tomorrow. It could be anything but we should have the manpower, we should have that agility, we should have the balance sheet to be able to contend with any of these risks as they emerge in the future,” he added.
The Governor, who has been in office for eight months acknowledged progress made so far by the Central Bank especially the stabilisation of the cedi and financial stability. He, however, stated that deep-seated structural issues such as dollarisation remain a concern.
Dr. Asiama further indicated that his goal is to build a central bank which is not only stable but also agile in the face of evolving challenges emphasising that wider use of the cedi in domestic transactions will strengthen monetary policy and improve economic resilience.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah