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The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has emerged as a trailblazer in Supervisory Technology (SupTech), offering valuable insights into the benefits and challenges associated with adopting technological solutions for financial oversight. During the inaugural 2023 Cambridge Suptech Week, Mrs. Elsie Addo Awadzi, the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, delivered a keynote address shedding light on the BoG’s success story.
The pivotal aspect of this success is attributed to the implementation of the Online Regulatory Analytic Surveillance System (ORASS) from 2019 to 2022. ORASS, a comprehensive system designed to enhance the effectiveness of financial supervision, integrates diverse modules to enable a wide range of supervisory functionalities.
Mrs. Awadzi underscored the transformative impact of ORASS, describing it as a “single portal that consolidates prudential data, streamlines reporting templates, eliminates data silos, and aids operational, analytical, and policy decisions.”
Despite its success, the ORASS implementation journey provided crucial lessons for future SupTech ventures. Mrs. Awadzi highlighted key takeaways, including the importance of aligned implementation timelines with the readiness of regulated institutions. She stressed the need for realistic timelines, as overestimating readiness can pose challenges.
Granular-level data collection presented challenges due to the lack of baseline data, necessitating interim steps for institutions to update customer profiles before system commencement. Addressing the cybersecurity risks associated with system implementation, the Bank established a Financial Industry Command Security Operations Centre (FICSOC) to enhance cyber-resilience across the industry.
Cost considerations emerged as a significant factor, with acquisition costs potentially proving prohibitive. Mrs. Awadzi advocated for a strategic approach to module adoption to optimize efficiency gains and emphasized the importance of promoting local expertise utilization to mitigate expenses.
The collaboration with the Cambridge Suptech Lab to develop a consumer protection SupTech tool reflects the Bank’s commitment to complementing ORASS, enabling an integrated prudential and consumer protection view of supervised entities. Mrs. Awadzi expressed gratitude for this collaboration, highlighting its role in the Bank’s ongoing journey toward enhanced effectiveness.
Throughout the journey, the Bank prioritized capacity building and technology transfer, ensuring maximum knowledge exchange with the vendor to facilitate local post-implementation support. Mrs. Awadzi emphasized that, despite well-designed SupTech, effective supervisory judgment remains indispensable, necessitating ongoing investments in supervisor capacity building.
The ORASS initiative not only streamlines supervisory functions but also extends support to monetary policy operations and foreign exchange market surveillance. Its granular-level data collection capabilities provide a comprehensive understanding of banking services usage, facilitating interventions to promote financial inclusion.
In conclusion, the Bank of Ghana’s ORASS initiative serves as a testament to the transformative potential of SupTech in financial supervision. The successes and challenges encountered provide valuable guidance for supervisory authorities worldwide, fostering international peer-learning and collaboration in navigating the evolving landscape of financial technology and oversight.
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