The Bank of Ghana has partnered with Frontclear to organise a market training workshop aimed at strengthening Ghana’s financial market infrastructure through enhanced understanding of repo guidelines, Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA), and International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) documentation.
Speaking at the opening of the one-day workshop in Accra, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Zakari Mumuni, stressed the importance of legal certainty, operational soundness, and risk management in deepening Ghana’s financial markets.
A financial market is only as strong as the legal and operational infrastructure beneath it. Volumes tell you how active a market is — documentation, risk frameworks, and legal certainty tell you how safe it is,” he stated.
Dr. Mumuni noted that Ghana’s financial markets are evolving rapidly, driven by an expanding fixed-income market and increasingly sophisticated financial instruments, adding that market growth must be matched with investments in legal literacy, risk culture, and operational infrastructure.
He explained that a well-functioning repo market is critical to supporting short-term funding, liquidity management, efficient use of securities as collateral, and effective monetary policy transmission.
GMRA provides an internationally recognised legal backbone for repo transactions. It defines counterparty rights and obligations with precision and establishes transparent mechanisms for default management, margining, and close-out netting — reducing legal uncertainty and supporting market confidence,” he said.
On derivatives markets, Dr. Mumuni highlighted the importance of ISDA documentation in creating contractual frameworks for hedging and risk management, including payment obligations, collateral arrangements, and close-out netting.
The First Deputy Governor said the training programme was intentionally designed to bring together treasury, risk, and legal professionals from financial institutions to encourage stronger coordination across front office, operations, risk management, and senior management functions.
A sound financial transaction demands strong coordination across the front office, risk management, legal, operations, and senior management. These functions form a critical tripod — no leg of which can be weak without compromising the whole,” he noted.
He further urged participants to engage in practical discussions on collateral management, legal enforceability, counterparty risk, and operational readiness, stressing that the integrity of Ghana’s financial markets “cannot rest on informal conventions or ambiguous documentation.”
It must rest on legally enforceable agreements, operationally sound processes, and professionals who understand precisely what they have signed,” Dr. Mumuni added.
The Bank of Ghana reaffirmed its commitment to working with stakeholders to strengthen market infrastructure, deepen liquidity, and align Ghana’s financial market standards with international best practices.
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