The strategy will also address issues of soundness and stability in the financial market to oversee and regulate the deployment of financial infrastructure, strengthen financial protection and improve upon financial literacy and capacity.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta who announced this in a speech read on his behalf at the launch of Equity Savings and Loans, a financial institution in Accra last week said the NFIS had become necessary because of the low financial penetration and access to financial services by the citizens.

Currently, only 58 per cent of adults in the country have access to financial services.

The finance minister said financial inclusion provided the opportunity to save for the future, to invest and generate income and to insure against adverse events.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to improving the country’s financial environment to enable institutions to successfully operate in the sector.

“So far we have cut a number of taxes relating to the industry and the Cedi is also showing relative strength. We believe that with the proper management of the economy, we will soon witness stability of the exchange rate and reduced interests,” he said.

The government, he added, would also continue to ensure it increased the confidence of the public in the savings and loans industry.

The board chairman of Equity Savings and Loans Limited, Mr. Samuel Owusu Manu said the company would continue to invest in Information Technology (IT) infrastructure in their quest to improve service delivery to customers.

He explained that, his outfit would also implement corporate policies and efficient control systems that would encourage transparent corporate governance, avoid potential conflict of interest and promote ethical business practices.

He noted that Equity Savings and Loans aspires to become a universal bank within the shortest possible time by being the  preferred choice for financial services in the country by both large and small medium enterprises and individuals.

With the current capitalisation of GH?18.3m, the financial institution, he said, was more than ready to “take its rightful place in the savings and loans sector of Ghana”.

The Chief Operating Officer of Equity Savings and Loans, Mr. Isaac K. Arthur, stated that, the company had developed tailor-made products to satisfy unique customer needs.

He said: “One cardinal principle in banking is convenience, and we will continue to expand to bring banking to the doorsteps of our customers and Ghanaians.”

He noted that, the company has also collaborated with their partner banks to offer remittance services like Vigo, Western Union, Ria and MoneyGram.

He called on government to continue to stabilise the micro-economic environment and indicators such as inflation and interest rate to enhance the growth of the private sector.

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addisson, in a speech read on his behalf commended the Equity Savings and Loans for ensuring full compliance with all the licensing requirement of the Central Bank.

He also advised management of the institution to help fashion out a robust enterprise-wide risk management system and stronger underwriting standards to mitigate potential risk.

By Raissa Sambou