Monthly Archives - October 2021

Persuade your customers to pay electronically

-GhIPSS boss tells shop owners Businesses are being encouraged to find innovative ways to get their customers to choose electronic payment channels over cash. This is to enable such businesses to have less cash on them and reduce their exposure to robbery and pilfering. There are concerns of robberies on the highways, in shops and other places and in most instances...

BoG establishes Financial Industry Security Operating Centre to reduce cyber fraud

Bank of Ghana is seeking to significantly reduce Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) and cyber-related fraud with the setting up of a Financial Industry Security Operating Centre, to ensure a safer cyberspace for the banking sector in Ghana. The assurance follows a rise in the number and value of ATM fraud cases and other types of fraud, as captured in the...

BoG purchases 280 kilogrammes of gold to shore up exchange foreign reserves

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has so far purchased 280 kilogrammes of gold under its Domestic Gold Purchase programme to help shore up the country’s foreign exchange reserves. The quantity so far purchased represent more than half of the 540 kilogrammes, the BoG projected to buy this year. The BoG in June this year launched the Domestic Gold Purchase programme to...

Africa’s top currencies: cedi places 9th

The Ghana cedi slipped one place to the 9th position out of 15th top African currencies. According to Joy Business tracking of the performance of African currencies so far this year, the local currency has not fared badly at all. In August, the cedi was ranked 8th among Africa’s top currencies with a depreciation of 1.30% to the US dollar. This was after...

Bank of Ghana registers ¢1.57bn profit in 2020

The Bank of Ghana registered a profit of ¢1.57 billion last year, its 2020 Annual Report has revealed. This is compared to the ¢1.80 billion recorded in 2019. The directors of the Central Bank however did not recommend dividend to be paid to the shareholder (government). In 2019, it also did not pay dividend. The report said “the directors have assessed the...

BoG taps ADB for test-run of financial industry command SOC

others to come on board as 2022 targetted for full operationalisation The Security Information and Events Management (SIEM) system and Security Operation Centre (SOC) of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) have been earmarked for the trial phase of the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) impending Financial Industry Command Security Operation Centre (FICSOC), which will boost monitoring of cyber vulnerabilities. This was disclosed...

Domestic borrowing causes high cost of lending – Addison

Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Yedu Addison, has said that the main reason for high lending rates in the country is largely due to government’s huge borrowing from the domestic debt market to support the budget; hence, any hope of affordable lending will depend on fiscal consolidation. Dr. Addison’s comment comes on the back of concerns raised...

Ghanaians to use more coins as BoG plans to phase out GH¢1 and GH¢2 notes

The GH¢1 and GH¢2 notes will soon be phased out of the Ghanaian economy. This was made known by the Governor of the Central Bank, Dr, Ernest Addison on Monday, September 27, 2021. Dr. Addison said the two notes which are usually not in good shape will be replaced by their respective coins. 2 cedi coin1 cedi coin “The GH¢1 note and GH¢2...

Growth in banks’ use of technology increases risks of cyber fraud – Addison

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, has said that measures have been put in place by the central bank to ensure safer cyber space in the financial sector of the local economy. He explained that the more financial institutions resort to the use of technology, the more likely they are to be exposed to cyber frauds hence,...