Repurchase Agreements a game changer for financial markets - Bawumia

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 launched guidelines for the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA) and the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) to promote efficient and more vibrant bonds market in the country.

It is expected that the adoption of the guidelines for the Repurchase Agreements would improve financial market transparency, liquidity and participation.

The Repurchase Agreements (Repos) is a financial system, where firms borrow and lend Treasury securities on a short-term basis to finance their trading positions and geared towards strengthening the monetary management of the Ghanaian economy.

For instance, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) in the past used repos primarily in liquidity management operations to support the conduct of the monetary policy.

The introduction of the GMRA based on the repos is intended to address some of the existing gaps in the country’s financial markets and ultimately broaden the scope of financial instruments.

Vice President Bawumia, speaking at the launch of the GMRA and the GFIM in Accra, explained that the operationalisation of the repos would undoubtedly promote efficient allocation of credit, control of liquidity and flow of funds in the Ghanaian economy for sustainable economic growth.

He, therefore, underlined the need for all financial market players in the country to build a robust regulatory framework that would anchor efficient financial market and serve the needs of market participants, as well as manage price risk and enhance resistant to shocks.

The event was attended by key stakeholders in the financial markets, including; Dr Ernest Gyedu Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister and Mr Ekow Afedzie, the Acting Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange, as well as partners from the International Capital Market Association, Chief Executive Officer from the financial sector, brokers, bankers and fund managers.

The introduction of the Repurchase Agreements on the financial markets was a collaborative effort of the Bank of Ghana, the Ghana Fixed Income Market, the Central Securities Depository and the International Capital Markets Association to foster financial market development in Ghana.

Vice President Bawumia expressed delight that at the turn of the millennium both Ghana and Africa were witnessing tremendous growth in the financial markets and believed it would deepen the overall financial architecture.

He thus attributed the progressing financial markets to emerging technological advancements and bold African entrepreneurship and progressive policymakers.

“For Ghana, the recent strides at improving our financial markets have been anchored on sustained economic growth, improved macro-economic stability, and the progressive financial sector reforms.

“However, challenging as those reforms, sometimes even contestable by critics, they have become necessary, and are contributing to the growing attraction for foreign direct investment, portfolio investment and other forms of capital inflows."

“Therefore, when we viewed against global trends and activities in many emerging markets, there is still substantial scope for improvements in most African financial markets,” the Vice President noted.

The Vice President called for continuous design and implementation of policies to deepen the financial markets so that it did not fall below the frontiers of innovation development.

Dr Bawumia explained that the repos facilitated the liquidity of government debt markets, acting as a bridge between money markets and debt markets, which was dominated by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Universal Banks.

He called for training programme for all major players in the repo markets to facilitate intra-African trade and investment flows so that the nation could maximise the benefits of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) platform.

“The government of Nana Akufo-Addo remains fully committed to supporting the financial sector to play its rightful role in the “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda. “It is for the demonstration of this commitment that the government has given its support to the Bank of Ghana, Securities and Exchange Commission and all relevant stakeholders in the recent financial clean-up activities."

By the time the clean-up activities are complete, we would have positioned this country on a solid foundation for economic growth,” the Vice President assured.

Government invested GHC13 billion to safeguard the deposits of about 4.5 million Ghanaians in the financial bailout to ensure sound financial system and social stability.

About nine Universal Banks were liquidated by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shut down 347 insolvent micro-financial institutions and 43 Fund Management Companies.