First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari has said timely policy responses in addition to the comprehensive financial sector reforms helped moderate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
Delivering a guest lecture during an MSc Development Finance class at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) on the topic COVID-19 Crisis and Monetary and Macro-Financial Policy Response, Dr Opoku-Afari averred leading indicators of economic activities during the height of the pandemic last year indicated a retardation which stemmed from restrictions like social distancing, partial lockdowns and other preventive measures introduced by the government.
To curb effects of the pandemic on the economy and return leading economic indicators to a positive trajectory, the BoG introduced policies which included a reduction in the policy rate by 150 basis points to 14.5%, collaborating with commercial banks to create a GHS 3 billion credit facility for key industries, including pharmaceuticals, hospitality, services, and manufacturing sectors, among others.
Speaking further, Dr Opoku-Afari described the policy responses of the BoG to manage the effects of the pandemic as decisive and broad-based, which occasioned the deployment of both conventional and non-conventional policies.
Adding that the pandemic has paved the way for many lessons to be learned by policy makers.
Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari is currently a Corporate Executive in Residence (CEiR) at the Department of Finance for the 2020/21 Academic Year. He is currently the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana. Before assuming the role of Deputy Governor, Dr. Opoku-Afari worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), rising through the ranks to the level of Deputy Division Chief and Mission Chief.
Maxwell Opoku-Afari’s work at the IMF also focused on policy design, in particular, on monetary policy modernization and macro-financial linkages. He has co-authored a number of IMF Policy Papers including one on “Modernizing Monetary Policy Frameworks in Low and Developing Countries” and another on “Monetary Policy Conditionality for Countries with Evolving Monetary Policy Regimes”.
These two policy papers are currently being used to drive the modernization of monetary policy frameworks in a number of low and developing countries. He has extensive publications on monetary policy, inclusive growth, short-term output indicators in low-income countries, aid effectiveness, and capital flows and real exchange rate dynamics.
Prior to joining the IMF in 2009, Dr. Opoku-Afari worked for 13 years at the Bank of Ghana, rising through the ranks to become the Head of the Special Studies Division in the Research Department. This was between January 2005 and June 2006, and was later elevated to the position of the Special Assistant to the Governor of Bank of Ghana, from June 2006 until he left the Bank of Ghana in October 2009.
He was also a member of the Government of Ghana’s Capital Markets Committee from 2006 to 2008. He holds a first degree in Economics and Statistics, and an MPhil in Economics, both from the University of Ghana, Legon and also a PhD in Economics from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.
