GCB Bank Platinum Conference: Economic indicators show path to recovery - — Minister of State

A Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, has said the current economic indicators confirm that the country has indeed turned the corner on its path to recovery from its challenges. 

He cited among  other indicaters the decline in inflation to 23.2 per cent, a relatively strong performance of the Ghana Cedi which recorded a depreciation of 7.2 per cent between February and December 2023, as well as the overall real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 2.8 per cent for the first three quarters of last year, as examples.

"Today, the sacrifices and commitment of government and Ghanaians have started yielding the expected economic returns.

"The economic indicators today demonstrate that indeed Ghana has turned the corner," Dr Adam said.

He stated that at the GCB Platinum Thought Leadership Conference in Accra yesterday.

The one-day thought-provoking event brought together bankers and experts from the fields of finance and economics.

Those present at the event included the President of the Council of Foreign Relations Ghana, Ambassador D. K. Osei; a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey; the Head of the Economics Department of the University of Ghana, Prof. William Baah-Boateng and the former Country Senior Partner of PwC Ghana, Felix Addo.

Restoration

Dr Adam said the government would continue to play its part through the restoration of macro stability and growth and a more equitable and conducive environment for business operations and growth.

He said the private sector was expected to be innovative and creative and to invest resources more strategically in those areas to spark the needed growth.

"As we embark on this journey of exploration, let us consider the power of collaboration and collective intelligence.

Today's challenges require a unified effort, bringing together the brightest minds to chart a course for the future," the Minister of State said.

BoG

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, said from customised financial solutions to stellar customer service, GCB had consistently exceeded expectations in meeting the diverse needs of its clients.

He said the bank had demonstrated steadfastness to its customers.

The Governor said in a country where banking had been fraught with challenges and uncertainties, GCB had demonstrated clarity of vision and resilience.

Dr Addison said since its inception in 1950 at a single location, its footprints had extended to cover 150 branches and 11 agencies, making it the bank with the widest branch network spread across the 16 regions in the country.

The bank, he said, had also capitalised on the digital finance revolution to become the first bank in Ghana to launch a bank-led Mobile money service -G-Money, which currently serves more than 2.7 million customers.

Again, he said, the bank had played a facilitator role in the country's international financial trade.

GCB MD

The Managing Director of GCB Bank PLC, Kofi Adomakoh, said the conference, which brought together world-class and highly respected experts, was to share perspectives and deliberate on topics relevant to the development of the financial services sector and the national economy.

"Our goal is to collate the conference proceedings for the publication of a book that will form part of GCB's 70th Anniversary celebrations.

"The book will be a significant source of information, history, facts, advocacy and reference for practitioners, scholars, researchers, academics, policymakers, and policy analysts in Ghana and other parts of the world," he said.

Mr Adomakoh said the bank, which had achieved many successes and also encountered challenges, had shown resilience and always recovered.

"We seek to show more of that resilience in our ability to support our customers to grow, expand their businesses and support the communities in which we operate," he said.

The GCB MD further stated that the bank's focus on digital transformation, customer experience, risk management, investment in human resources and ESG would spearhead its growth as a bank.