By Ebrima Jallow
The first deputy governor, Central Bank of The Gambia, Dr. Seeku AK Jaabi, has said that with the proliferation of banks in The Gambia, the expectations are that it would lead to increased competition and the resultant efficiencies.
The First Deputy Governor made these remarks at a two-day consultative workshop on financial sector developments and compliance, held at Baobab Holiday Resort in Bijilo last Wednesday.
According to Dr. Jaabi, the central aim of the workshop is to bring all major players in The Gambia’s financial sector together to interact, engage and share expertise in different areas of finance as they relate to the current financial landscape.
“More technologies and innovations leading to deepening of the financial systems. This will in a long way complement government’s efforts in reducing financial exclusion, unemployment, poverty and boost the attainment of other macro-economic objectives. In the process, the agenda of financial inclusion through bringing the benefits of the financial services and products to the door steps of the poor and under-privileged will enable them to participate in the financial sector and share the benefits of sustained growth attained,” he said.
“The perception that the financial sector is the most regulated sector of the economy may be true to the extent that most of the financial activities in economy passed through financial institutions and in most cases they are highly leveraged.”
He further disclosed that regulation and supervision are key and this should always be enhanced to ensure that the many risks associated with banking operations are identified, measured, monitored and mitigated as effectively and expeditiously as possible.
He urged participants from commercial banks, insurance companies, finance companies and foreign exchange bureaus, to take full benefits of these interactions for better treasury and sustainable debt management while promoting financial inclusion in the country.
“And it is our commitment to have such consultations on annual basis to tackle challenges together and exploit opportunities available to us. Such that at the end of it all. We shall emerged as better equipped persons ready and willing to make positive changes to translate into addressing our key challenges of de risking by global banks. And add value to our on-going individual and collective efforts to foster growth and development in the financial sector and to the economy as a whole,” he said.
