Invest in people to build resilient financial markets — Vice-President

The Vice-President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called for greater investment in people who build, regulate and participate in financial markets to strengthen trust and resilience in the global financial system. 

She explained that markets could only function effectively when supported by competent professionals, strong institutions and ethical standards.

Speaking at congress on day two of the ACI World Congress in Accra yesterday, the Vice-President added that empowering the next generation of market professionals through skills development and integrity-based training was critical to sustaining modern financial systems. 

Event

The ACI World Congress is the premier event of the ACI Financial Markets Association, bringing together key players in the global financial markets industry for dialogue, collaboration and networking.

The participants

Held on the theme: “Elevating markets, empowering people,” the two-day congress, which ended yesterday, attracted financial market experts, policymakers and industry leaders from over 60 countries.

The event was hosted by ACI Ghana with support from the Bank of Ghana, with sponsorship from some corporate institutions.

Integrity

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang further said that financial professionals must possess integrity, sound judgement and a clear understanding of market products and risks to maintain credibility in the sector.

She said regulators and professional bodies had a responsibility to prepare people for the growing complexity and pace of modern financial systems.

“We cannot build strong economies on weak markets. Resilient markets cannot be built without trust, and trust cannot exist without competence, ethics, and robust institutions,” the Vice-President said.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang added that empowering people through education and inclusion would help Africa design competitive and innovative financial systems capable of supporting long-term economic growth.

Significance

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, said the congress was taking place at a critical moment when global financial markets were being reshaped by geopolitical tensions, technological disruptions, climate risks and shifting capital flows.

He said the country had undertaken major macro-economic reforms over the past 17 months to restore fiscal stability, rebuild investor confidence and strengthen the country’s financial sector.

Mr Ampem said that the successful completion of Ghana’s IMF-supported Extended Credit Facility programme marked a turning point in the country’s economic recovery, while signalling the government’s commitment to responsible economic management. 

Digitalisation

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, said rapid developments in digital payments, artificial intelligence, fintech and cross-border payment systems were transforming how economies and financial markets operated across the world.