- Banks Must Put Ethics into the Design of Digital Services – Governor
Ghana’s banks are being challenged to make digital transformation serve customers without creating new risks to trust, financial stability and institutional integrity. The Bank of Ghana’s message is that technology can change how financial services are delivered, but it cannot replace ethical leadership and effective governance.
That argument was set out in an address by Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama to the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana’s 30th National Banking and Ethics Conference, held at Aqua Safari Resort on November 9 and 10.
The address was delivered on his behalf by Bernard Otabil, the Bank’s Director of Communications.
The conference theme, “Banking on the Future: Trust, Technology and Transformation”, links three forces that are often discussed separately. The speech argues that they must be managed together: technology can expand access and reduce costs, but its benefits will be limited if customers do not trust the institutions using it.
And transformation without sound governance, it warns, can introduce risks that weaken the very institutions it is intended to strengthen.
The stakes are not merely reputational. Banks hold savings, allocate credit and connect businesses with finance. If customers lose confidence in how those institutions protect deposits or handle personal information, the damage can spread beyond a single company.
The Governor’s address therefore treats ethics as a condition for sustainable banking, rather than a compliance exercise performed only when regulators are watching.
Ghana’s financial-sector clean-up between 2017 and 2019 is presented as a reminder of what can happen when governance fails. The speech identifies poor corporate governance, insider dealings, weak risk management and unethical conduct by some directors and senior managers among the factors that contributed to the distress and failure of several institutions.
Its warning is blunt: “A bank can have adequate capital, liquidity and sophisticated technology, but if its leadership lacks integrity and its internal controls are compromised, the institution remains fundamentally vulnerable.”
That observation gives the debate about digital banking a broader frame. Cybersecurity is not only a technical matter for information technology teams.
It is also a question of who has access to sensitive systems, how staff are trained, whether suspicious activity is escalated and whether boards treat security as a strategic responsibility.
The Bank’s 2025 Annual Report, cited in the address, highlights risks observed across the sector, including inadequate safeguards for public-facing systems, weak security configurations, stolen login credentials and the takeover of active user sessions.
These vulnerabilities show how a cyber incident may begin with a technical weakness but can be enabled by poor access controls, weak staff practices or insufficient management oversight.
The Bank’s Financial Industry Command Security Operations Centre provides threat intelligence to 23 banks, the speech says. That shared support can help institutions respond to cyber risks, but the address stresses that banks themselves must invest in secure systems, staff training and effective internal controls.
Boards and executives remain responsible for ensuring that cybersecurity receives appropriate attention.
Technology offers substantial potential for Ghana’s financial system. Digitalisation, mobile money, fintech partnerships and artificial intelligence can lower transaction costs, improve risk monitoring and fraud detection, and make services more accessible to people and businesses that have been underserved. But those gains depend on how products are designed and used.
The Governor’s address points to the risks arising from customer data and automated decision-making. Banks’ use of personal information raises questions about privacy, consent and confidentiality.
Artificial intelligence used for credit assessment, customer profiling or fraud detection needs safeguards against bias, discrimination and unfair outcomes.
That is a challenge for banks seeking efficiency through automation. A decision made by an algorithm can still deny a customer a loan unfairly or expose personal information improperly.
The technology may be new, but the obligations to explain decisions, protect customers and manage risk remain. The speech argues that ethical considerations must be built into technology from the outset, rather than added after products are already in use.
Virtual assets including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenised financial products, also require a careful balance. The address says innovation should be supported where it benefits customers and the economy, while risks involving money laundering, terrorist financing, cyber vulnerabilities and market abuse are addressed.
It cites the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154), as a foundation for regulating the evolving ecosystem.
The challenge for banks and regulators is to avoid two failures: allowing innovation to outpace safeguards or applying rules in a way that blocks useful services without addressing the underlying risks.
The speech’s position is that innovation must advance customer and economic interests without weakening integrity, accountability or financial stability.
That approach also has implications for how banks define transformation. The address argues that transformation is not achieved simply by deploying new platforms. It requires institutions to rethink business models, strengthen operational resilience, invest in human capital and improve their ability to respond to cyber threats, financial crime and disruptions involving technology providers.
It also calls for a shift from a narrow focus on short-term profitability towards sustainable value creation and responsible banking.
Financial performance remains essential, but the speech says it should not come at the expense of customer welfare, sound governance or long-term stability.
The address places responsibility on both the regulator and the industry. The Bank of Ghana says it will continue adapting its supervisory approach to risks from digital finance, cybersecurity, financial crime and the growing connections between financial institutions and technology providers. But regulation cannot substitute for integrity inside the institutions it supervises.
“No supervisory framework can replace the responsibility of institutions to act with integrity,” the Governor said.
Boards and senior management, it adds, must take ownership of their institutions’ conduct and ethical culture, supported by effective internal controls, risk management and compliance.
That is the more demanding test behind the conference theme. Banks can adopt new technology, expand digital channels and improve efficiency, but those advances will not automatically create trust.
Trust depends on whether customers are treated fairly, their information is protected and their money is managed responsibly, including when pressure for growth or profit is high.
Ghana’s banking future will therefore depend not only on how quickly institutions adopt new tools, but on whether their governance can keep pace with them. Digital transformation can widen access and improve service.
Without accountability and ethical leadership, however, it can also increase the scale and speed at which harm is done.
