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Nine members of the new Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana (CIB Ghana) have taken their oaths of office and secrecy in Accra, with Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu charging them to confront cybercrime, digital banking fraud and the risks artificial intelligence poses to the sector, according to 3News.
The ceremony took place at the Ministry of Education and was conducted under the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana Act, 2019 (Act 991). Dr Ellen Ohene-Afoakwa leads the Council as President and Chairperson.
Mr Iddrisu, who passed on congratulations from President John Dramani Mahama, said the Council should use its legal mandate to drive professional excellence, tighten ethical standards and meet new challenges facing banking. Under Act 991, the Institute regulates professional banking practice, sets standards, runs examinations and promotes continuing professional development (CPD).
Why it matters
The swearing-in hands a fresh team responsibility for how banking professionals in Ghana are trained, certified and disciplined at a time when fraud is moving online and AI tools are changing how financial crime is carried out. What the Council does on standards and curriculum will shape how prepared the country's bankers are for those threats.
Mr Iddrisu was direct about the expectation. "We expect that you will respond to the new emerging challenge of artificial intelligence and how that can impact on fraud associated with banking in Ghana," he said, as reported by 3News.
He also drew attention to non-performing loans (NPLs), compliance with regulation and sound corporate governance. On conduct, he said ethics sits at the centre of banking work, and that bankers are expected to give accurate information, steer clear of fraud, protect confidentiality and avoid discriminatory practices.
The Minister acknowledged that the sector has become more resilient and asked the Council to think about how those gains can be held onto. He noted the role community banks play in bringing financial services to more people and in encouraging saving, especially in rural areas.
He further asked CIB Ghana to advise the Ministry on whether financial literacy could be added to the national curriculum, and at what level it would fit.
Council sets out priorities
Dr Ohene-Afoakwa thanked President Mahama and the Minister for the confidence placed in the Council. She said its work goes past supervision to helping determine what the banking profession in Ghana becomes, given how technology and new risks are reshaping the industry.
She listed the Council's focus areas as professional standards, capability in digital finance, good governance, ethical leadership and clearer routes into banking for the next generation of practitioners. "Our ambition therefore is to build a profession that is future-ready, globally competitive, strong in integrity, competence and public trust," she said, according to 3News.
Speaking to journalists afterwards, Dr Ohene-Afoakwa said the Institute has already brought cybersecurity and virtual assets into its curriculum, together with data analytics and green finance. She described success for the Council in practical terms: fewer fraud cases, bankers who work ethically and create value, and a workforce able to assess credit properly and help bring down NPLs.
Credit hours and a wider skills push
Robert Dzato, Chief Executive Officer of CIB Ghana, said continuing professional development is central to keeping members competent. Under the Institute's approach, staying on the register is no longer a matter of paying subscriptions alone. "To be a member in the institute going forward, it's not just paying subscription, but you must take a certain minimum number of credit hours in a year to continue to maintain that status as a chartered banker," he said, as quoted by 3News.
Mr Dzato said the Institute is also putting weight on leadership, soft skills and digital skills. It runs banking and ethics programmes at university level and supports financial literacy teaching in secondary schools as a way of building the industry's future workforce.
The Council's public debut comes shortly before CIB Ghana holds its 30th National Banking and Ethics Conference on 9 and 10 November 2026, themed "Trust, Technology and Transformation." Mr Iddrisu has confirmed he will take part, and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations are also expected.
Watch for the conference next month, where the Council's stated priorities on AI-related fraud, digital skills and ethics are likely to meet their first public test.
