Investors are happy about the now stronger, resilient banking sector - Yofi Grant

Yofi Grant has indicated that; “It is very important for investors to see that the reforms in the banking sector are strong and resilient, as it's been cleaned up, because if it hadn’t been cleaned up, it would have been worse than it used to.”

According to him, the reforms laid out by the BOG in the banking sector are targeted at boosting the market.

The Head of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Yofi Grant was speaking at the 4th Quarter of GIPC CEO’s Breakfast Meeting in Accra on Friday.

Yofi Grant explained that investors are happy about the turbulence in the banking sector adding that it was a necessary evil which opened doors for a more resilient economy as well as presented Ghana as a vibrant and attractive investment destination.

Grant also maintained that Ghana’s economy has experienced a boost and has achieved some major growth.

He further expressed confidence in extra growth which will enable the country hold its position as one of the fastest growing economy in Africa and the world at large.

On the other hand, he cited high cost of interest rates to investors as a major concern for the private sector but maintained that efforts by the Finance Ministry he believes will help strengthen the fundamentals of the economy.

“As we speak, we’ve seen the deficit drop from 9.3% too less that 4%. As the Ministry of Finance works hard to strengthen the fundamentals of the economy, I believe the Bank of Ghana through very strong monetary policy initiatives, will also bring down the cost of money and make sure that the financial sector is able to support industry and trade.” He averred.

According to the GIPC CEO, “But if you look at the general economy, the economy is pretty strong so far. We have achieved growth rates that admirable. In 2017, the economy grew by 8.1% in 2018, we expect it to grow in excesses of 6% and still be part of one of the growing fastest growing economy in Africa and in the world.”

He, however, raised concerns about the negative effects of the shake up in the banking sector; the several panic withdrawals by customers included, suggesting that BoG finds a way to deal with the situation pertaining to regulatory reforms and governance in these institutions.

“We of course are still concerned that some may have lost monies out of panic withdrawals but that’s another [problem that we will deal with as to (pertaining to) regulatory reforms and governance in these institutions.” he concluded.