When a bank gets it wrong, the damage often shows up beyond the banking hall. It shows in struggling businesses, lost jobs and households forced to cut back on education and healthcare.
This reality took centre stage as leaders in Ghana’s banking industry called for higher ethical standards and better risk management.
The warning formed the core message at the 17th Induction and Graduation Ceremony of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana (CIB Ghana), where 186 professionals were inducted and graduated as chartered bankers, expanding the pool of practitioners expected to safeguard financial stability and support economic growth.
Delivering the keynote address, Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited, Thomas Atta John, said banking failures often carry severe but underreported human costs, including job losses, disrupted education and reduced access to healthcare.
He stressed that while financial losses can sometimes be repaired, reputational damage caused by ethical failure is often permanent, eroding trust and increasing systemic risk.
Lessons from the Banking Sector Clean-Up
Between 2017 and 2019, the Bank of Ghana revoked the licences of several banks after supervisory reviews and special audits uncovered deep-rooted governance breaches. The regulator’s findings pointed to persistent capital adequacy breaches, excessive insider lending, diversion of depositor funds to related parties, falsified capital positions and weak board oversight.
In some cases, banks were found to be insolvent long before regulatory action was taken, with boards and management failing to act independently or in the interest of depositors.
Economic and Social Fallout
The collapse and consolidation of banks had far-reaching consequences. Thousands of jobs were lost, access to credit tightened sharply particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises and confidence in the financial system was badly shaken. Government intervention to protect depositors came at a significant fiscal cost, reinforcing the point that weak banking governance ultimately imposes a heavy burden on the wider economy.
Ethics and Professionalism as First Line of Defence
Beyond the keynote, CIB Ghana used the ceremony to reinforce the broader responsibility of bankers in a disrupted financial environment. The President of the Institute, Benjamin Amenumey, said the chartered banker qualification represents a commitment to integrity, sound judgment and accountability in dealings with customers and society. He noted that the Institute’s mandate is to regulate the practice of banking and strengthen professional standards across the sector.
Chief Executive Officer of CIB Ghana, Robert Dzato, emphasised that banking is ultimately about trust and responsibility, not just numbers. He said decisions taken within banks shape lives and communities, making ethics and competence essential to restoring and sustaining confidence in the financial system.
Expanding the Pool of Trusted Professionals
The ceremony saw the induction and graduation of 186 chartered bankers, expanding the pool of professionals expected to strengthen governance and ethical standards across the sector. Women accounted for more than half of the inductees, a development industry leaders say supports leadership diversity and long-term sustainability in banking.
A Call to Remember the Hard Lessons
As Ghana works to mobilise capital for business expansion, industrial growth and job creation, speakers agreed that the lessons from the banking clean-up must not be forgotten. Ethical leadership, continuous professional development and effective oversight, they stressed, remain critical to ensuring banks support economic growth rather than become a source of systemic risk.
