Banking

The domestic financial sector has been fairly dynamic recently, with a number of mergers and new players arriving on the scene. However, approximately 70% of the population remains unbanked, and increasing access to financing is a government priority, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Given the large informal market, the size of the unbanked population and the challenge of integrating lower-income customers into the formal financial system, microfinance is taking off. However, some medium-term challenges will need to be navigated, including fragmentation at the lower end of the market, and ensuring equal implementation of good governance and data collection measures. This chapter contains an interview with Kofi Wampah, Governor, Bank of Ghana, and a roundtable with Charles Cofie, Board Chairman, Barclays; Samuel Adjei, Managing Director, Ecobank; Simon Dornoo, Managing Director, Ghana Commercial Bank; and Kweku Bedu-Addo, CEO, Standard Chartered.