By: Kekeli K. Blamey
The First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, has highlighted the critical role of the Ghana International Bank (GHIB) in Ghana and Africa, describing the financial institution as a strategic asset.
In a keynote address at the recently concluded CNVERGE conference in London, Dr. Opoku-Afari congratulated the Bank as it celebrates it 65th Anniversary.
He said “The imperative and impetus that drove our founding fathers to open a Bank in the heart of this global financial centre of London, has proven to be a mark of deep foresight.”
Dr. Opoku-Afari also touches on the challenges facing African economies and commended GHIB for its commitment to growth and development.
He mentioned that, “The conference is taking place at a time the global economy is gradually recovering from the effects of the two successive shocks, but the last four years, which has disrupted growth, raise the cost of living and inflation, and has pushed central banks to their policy tightening limits.
In Africa, the first of the global shocks were amplified by already existing domestic fixed debt vulnerability.
These conditions created enormous challenges for policymakers on the continent, and especially in Ghana, where macroeconomic imbalances emerged in the form of rising inflation, loss of access to international markets to finance the budget, sharp depreciation of the domestic currency, and governments inability to meet its debt obligations and balance of payments consents at the end of the day when it.”
“Through these challenging times, however, GHIB has been instrumental promoting trade and sustaining the dynamic economy and the African economy. When most commercial banks lost their corresponding banking relationship in Ghana during our recent turbulence, GHIB remained steadfast and maintained a critical trade bridge that assured access to global trade.t. I always maintain that Ghana International Bank, is strategic to the economy of Ghana and indeed West Africa,” Dr. Opoku-Afari added.
He also highlighted the significant trade finance gap in Africa, emphasising that bridging this gap could transform many African economies and how GHIB stands ready to close that gap.
According to Dr. Opoku-Afari, “It has been estimated that there is a persistently high trade financing gap of about US$90 billion annually across markets in Sub Sahara Africa. We believe the closing of this gap could generate an additional US$180 billion in growth annually.
That will represent approximately 10percent more annual growth in GDP in the Sub Sahara African region. As the leading provider of credit to the West African economy GHIB is positioned to support importers and exporters in accelerating the closing of the persistently high trade finance gap in the region.”
He further noted the Bank of Ghana’s excitement at the vibrant initiatives by management to scale up the Bank and reiterated support for the strategic extension of GHIB into East and Central Africa.
Ghana International Bank (GHIB), through its CNVERGE conference, is committed to being a pivotal player in addressing these challenges and shaping the future of African trade. As one of the pioneering pan-African financial institutions in the City of London, GHIB is uniquely positioned to lead these critical conversations.
CNVERGE has been specifically designed to harness GHIB’s extensive experience and leverage its network of partners, clients, and even competitors. Through this platform, the bank aims to initiate a continuous series of roundtables focused on generating, discussing, and implementing new ideas to foster the growth of African trade.
The inaugural conference, which was held under the theme ‘The Risk/Opportunity Interplay for African Trade’, had participants from over 60 corporates, sovereigns and banks operating in the United Kingdom and Sub-Sahara Africa. High-level representatives from the central banks of Ghana, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, and Nigeria attended the event.
Ghana International Bank (GHIB) was incorporated in the United Kingdom with a unique mandate to support the economies of Ghana and the wider African continent. We are a dynamic pan-African bank supporting a dynamic continent.
Through our market knowledge and strong relationships, we work to foster trade, promote companies’ business growth, deliver cost-effective services to individuals and drive sustained economic development. By working together, we aim to create a brighter future for everyone: our customers, staff, shareholders and the communities we serve. GHIB focuses on six key areas: treasury and global markets, trade finance, corporate and institutional banking, retail and small business banking, correspondent banking, and payment solutions.
