Executive Director for Wholesale and Investment Banking at GCB PLC, Sam Aidoo, has charged newly elected executives of ACI-Ghana to put in place measures to instill savings culture among Ghanaians.
He explained that what drives economic activities in a country is the sum total of individual savings. “For us to see growth, it is imperative that we cultivate the culture of savings. Savings is the number one driver for every country’s development, but we are faced with a situation where savings are being threatened. I shudder to think what might happen if people decide not to save money anymore?”
He said this during ACI-Ghana’s Annual General Meeting and swearing in ceremony of its newly elected executives held in Accra.
“If we do not drive the negative thoughts around savings into the positive position, Ghana will gradually be going down the slippery slope. I would like to urge all of us that notwithstanding the difficulties that we are facing as an association, we should take it upon ourselves to bring back the savings culture,” he said.
The new crop of executives of ACI-Ghana, numbering five, are tasked with the mandate to steer the affairs of the association over the next two years.
Taking the oath of office, the newly elected President of ACI-Ghana, Lawrence Osilaja Boampong, said the purpose of the Annual General Meeting is to serve as an opportunity for members of the association to network with one another while also creating long-term relationships with mutual benefits.
He indicated that over the years, the association has demonstrated commitment to educating market participants as well as growing and deepening the financial markets in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
Mr. Boampong explained that: “As an association of financial market professionals, ACI-Ghana’s core principle, among other things, is to provide its members with professional financial education while also ensuring that there is sound market practices on the financial market”.
He said banking sector regulator Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance, among others, have been supportive of efforts to sanitise and improve financial education, adding: “We believe there is a lot we can do together in these times. We are also looking at collaborations from member institutions”.
He said it was imperative for ACI-Ghana members to keep themselves abreast with trends and happenings in international financial markets and to see how they can be replicated on the domestic space.
“It is very important that we all keep ourselves abreast with current trends. And so we are looking to all our continuing professional education, in partnership with different training institutions, to come on board to make it possible,” Mr. Boampong said.
He further stated that aside from educating members, ACI-Ghana seeks to provide financial education to the media.
“We believe that education is key, so aside from ourselves, we are also providing education to the media. The space we operate is a technical area and we believe that partnership with the media will be very helpful to the market in terms of ensuring that information going out there is good, and this will go a long way in advancing our financial market,” he explained to the B&FT.
He further expressed his outfit’s willingness to support government to ensure that confidence is brought back to the market.
Highlighting successes chalked during his tenure of office, the immediate past president, Kofi Asare Pianim, said: “When you are given stewardship, your job is to leave things in a better place than you found it. I believe we made progress. We managed to unite different bodies of the market. We brought partnership with Security Exchange Commission, Ghana Association of Bankers, brokers and so on, and we continue to expand our mandate globally”.
ACI-Ghana became a member of its parent association, ACI international, in December 2013. Its network spans all banks, brokerage firms, and a number of non-bank financial institutions.
