The President in his State of the Nation Address in Parliament today said the body groups together all the regulators of the financial system and will advise the President on the measures to be taken to be taken to preserve the stability in the sector.

He said the existence of such a body will have forestalled the emergence of the Menzgold saga and made it difficult for any such scheme to get off the ground.

He also admonished Ghanaians to learn the necessary lessons from the Menzgold debacle.

President Akufo-Addo said: "And, while I am on the subject of rogue activities in the banking sector, it is probably the time to mention the MenzGold debacle. This is a tragic phenomenon that appears to have occurred in plain sight, and affected a lot of people, in spite of warnings from official institutions.

"As the authorities try to unravel the intricacies of what happened, I admonish all Ghanaians to learn the necessary lessons for the future, even as State institutions work to bring a resolution to the matter, and those who are seen to have indulged in criminal activities, are brought to justice.

"Last week, I inaugurated the Presidential Financial Stability Advisory Council, an inter-institutional consultative coordination body, which groups together all the regulators of our financial system, and whose purpose is to advise the President on the measures to be taken to preserve the stability of the financial system.

"The existence of such a body would have forestalled the emergence of the Menzgold saga, and will make it difficult, in future, for any such scheme to get off the ground," he stressed.

The Council inaugurated by the President last week is chaired by Dr Ernest Addision, Governor of the Bank of Ghana. It includes Mrs Elsie Addo, Deputy Governor, BoG, Charles Adu Boahen, Deputy Minister of FinanMr and Mr Justice Yaw Ofori, Commissioner, National Insurance Commission as members.

The rest are Mr Daniel Ogbarmey, Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Hayford Atta Krufi, Chief Executive, National Pensions Regulatory Authority, and Mr Ignatius Wilson, Director, International Growth Center.

Mandate of the Council

The Council will among others, advise the President on how to strengthen and reinforce the stability of the financial system of the country, acting as an inter-institutional consultative coordination body and as well Coordinate the regulation supervision at the micro level, by focusing on matters of common concern in the various financial regulators involved in the regulation and supervision of financial entities in the country.

Additionally, the Council would help evaluate and mitigate financial stability risks by focusing on a timely detection and mitigation of risks in the stability of Ghana’s financial system.