Financial institutions need to help in the development of critical sectors

Mr Victor Yaw Asante, the Chief Executive Officer of FNB Bank, has called on players in the financial sector to help in the development of critical sectors of the Ghanaian economy.

He said the financial institutions should pay attention to sectors such as education, health, manufacturing and agriculture.

Mr Asante was speaking at the maiden edition of the Money Summit organized by the B&FT in collaboration with the Bank of Ghana, Ghana Bankers Association, Ghana Stock Exchange and Ghana Insurers Association.

The event was on the theme: "Role of the Financial Sector in Post-Pandemic Recovery."

The Money Summit is a one-day roundtable platform that brought together players in the financial sector to dialogue on issues about the sector.

It was to bring up new thinking and policy alternatives to help shape the country’s agenda for economic growth while discussing issues relating to the financial sector of the country.

Issues discussed centred on the Capital and money markets with specific areas, including banking, insurance, pensions, the stock market and asset management.

"On the Industrial front, we must support value addition to continue to boost the economy for growth and development," he said.

Mr Asante urged Banks to lead in providing solutions to the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CEO said as an industry they could only use the opportunity to introduce new ways of doing things like leveraging on technological advances to improve the economy.

"There is also an opportunity to improve on the country’s health sector, social protection, ICT and support for the SMEs industry," he said.

Mr Kojo Addae-Mensah, the Chief Executive Officer of Databank Group, called on players in the investment sector to strive to restore confidence in the sector by making money the right way.

He said the low confidence and trust in the sector made it a huge struggle for clients to accept digital platforms as means of a business transaction, especially when it comes to first-time customers

He said clients were more interested in meeting a physical person they could identify and hold responsible or walk to anytime they made payments through a digital platform.

Dr Gofred Acquaye, the General Manager of the Business and Financial Times, said the Summit was to mobilize expert opinions on key developments within the financial sector of Ghana and to enhance public understanding of key policy measures in the financial sector.

He said it was also to brainstorm and proffer solutions to identify challenges in the financial sector and to elicit opinions and input of key stakeholders into government policies.

On the expected outcomes, he said the Summit was designed to be both engaging and impactful, affecting the government policy and the decision-making by private players.

"The summit is expected to provide a platform which enables private sector players to share their opinions and make significant inputs into government policy making," he added.