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Experts end meeting on sub-region financial integration
Accra, March 29, Ghanadot/GNA– A two-day
meeting to discuss how to enhance access to banking and
financial services in the West African sub-region ended in
Accra on Saturday.
The attended by cross-section of experts in the banking
sector, insurance and stock markets in the sub-region was to
enable participants draw up a coordinated roadmap for
increasing the competitiveness of the financial sector.
Mr Daniel Mensah, Executive Secretary, Ghana Bankers
Association, told journalists that the workshop explored
ways of integrating the various financial sectors in the
sub-region to foster socio-economic development.
He said the meeting also reviewed regional, national,
government, donor and private sector initiatives and
identified priorities for recommendations made during the
first session.
A look was also taken at an action plan developed during the
first workshop held in Accra last year that sought ways of
overcoming hurdles, broaden the range of financial
instruments and promote the harmonization of the financial
sectors within the sub-region.
Mr Clifford Mettle, Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs
of National Investment Bank, who spoke “financial
Initiatives to Improve Remittance Services for Economic
Growth and Development,” stressed the need to foster
regional financial flows and develop money transfer products
to make payment of bills on services more affordable and
attractive.
He said there was also the need to create innovative
financial products that would encourage recipients to save
part of remittances they received and also enhance the
institutional capacity of rural banks, credit unions and
microfinance institutions in remittance receiving countries.
Mr Mettle said to create strong, reliable and safe channels
through which remittances could flow, the linkages between
the financial system of remitting countries and the
financial systems of recipient countries must improve.
Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, Chief Executive Officer, United Bank
for Africa International, said banks could facilitate
regional financial integration through establishment of
offices outside their home country, create regional IT
platforms as well as establish a regional Inter-Bank Real
Time Gross Settlement System to facilitate efficient trade
settlement and funds transfer.
The workshop was a follow-up to one held in November last
year and was organized by the Ghana Association of Bankers
and West African Bankers Association, Nigerian branch with
support from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)
Business Climate Facility (BizClim), an ACP-EU joint
initiative funded by the European Development Fund.
GNA
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