Building any resilient financial system depends on trust. Trust comes on foot and leaves in a Ferrari (Mark Carney, Fmr Governor, Bank of England). Indeed, trust is the most important currency in banking, finance and payment systems. The resilience and sustainability of Ghana’s financial system depends on trusted professionals.
How then is trust built? To my mind, trust comes from competence, ethics and professionalism. The tripod of Ghana’s financial system comprises regulators, practitioners and educators. Each leg of the tripod has a defined role to play in sustaining a resilient financial sector.
As a professional educational institution, Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana has a mandate to promote banking education and regulate the practice of banking (as enshrined in Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana Act 2019, Act 991). This is our strategic mandate to develop trusted and ethical professionals for a resilient financial sector.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana. Whilst there is a lot to celebrate, the Institute is acutely aware of the urgent need to put ethics and professionalism high on the agenda of banks and bankers.
The Bank of Ghana 2022 fraud report shows that the rate of staff involvement in reported fraud cases has seen a marginal reduction to 47.8percent from 53.46percent in 2021. The need to professionalize the industry and redefine banking through ethics cannot be overemphasized. Certainly, our industry needs more ethical and professional bankers.
In 2020, the Institute, Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Association of Banks launched the code of ethics and business conduct. To meet the demands of the industry, the Institute would soon launch its new syllabus with focus on ethics, sustainability, digital and customer centricity to equip bankers with relevant and core banking competencies. In addition, the Institute intends to launch its Chartered Banker for Executive Leadership (CBEL) course, a programme designed specifically for senior leadership and boards of financial institutions.
As we celebrate our 60th anniversary, the Governing Council and Management of the Institute are deeply committed to working with other stakeholders in sustaining a resilient banking, finance and payment systems. The Institute is determined to contribute to the UN SDG goal four (4) by developing quality human capital for the financial sector.
>>>the writer is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana
