The Bank of Ghana has charged banks to focus on strategies such as risk management, innovation, stakeholder engagement, transparency and disclosure and collaboration in order to remain resilient in times of uncertainty.

Overall, the regulator say, sustainable banking is a crucial tool for addressing challenges of uncertainty and volatility in the global economy.

Deputy Director of Banking Supervision, Ismail Adam, said by integrating Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria into banks’ decision-making processes, banks can create long-term value for both society and investors, while promoting a more sustainable and equitable future.

Speaking at the launch the Integrated Environmental, Social and Governance (IESG) programme for Ghana, he said one of the key challenges facing banking business is uncertainty and volatility of markets and economies, but sustainable banking can help address these challenges by promoting risk management with a forward-looking view, as well as helping to build more resilient and sustainable economies.

He further that the Bank of Ghana has undertaken a number of activities towards the implementation of the SBPs and therefore it is his expectation that this project would complement the efforts of the Central Bank and leads to the full implementation of the SBPs across the banking industry as well as within Bank of Ghana itself.

Some key activities undertaken by BOG include building the capacity of staff on the SBPs as well as getting a dedicated office within the bank to oversee the full implementation SBPs, developing a road map to ensure banking industry training on all the principles by the end of 2023 and analysing four rounds of reports received from the banks, beginning March 2021 to September 2022.

Mr. Adam said the reporting templates received from the banks suggest a steady progress with the implementation of the SBPs with average compliance rate at 53.37% as of September 2022.

The programme builds on two previous IFC initiatives in collaboration with the Bank of Ghana that culminated in the launch of Ghana’s Sustainable Banking Principles, in 2019.

All Ghanaian banks have now signed on to the principles, thereby recognizing that a holistic approach to risk management must include ESG considerations.