‘Love of money is root of all evil and banks must fight that evil’ – Association of Banks president

The Ghana Association of Banks president, Kwamina Asomaning, has made a strong case for heightened ethical training in the banking sector, stressing the need for mandatory programs to combat fraud and unethical behavior among bank staff.

Speaking on PM Express Business Edition on Joy News, the Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Ghana did not mince words about the reputational damage caused by financial misconduct within banks.

“What we sell as banks is trust,” he emphasized.

“And it’s embarrassing, and it’s a big shame when we breach the trust of our customers, our employers, and our shareholders by effectively putting our hand in the cookie jar.”

He pointed out that while the banking sector is built on financial integrity, the environment itself presents many temptations.

“You know there’s a biblical saying that the love of money is the root of all evil, and we’re right in the midst of money,” he said.

“So you can imagine that it brings out the very worst in people. And unfortunately, we’re finding that some of our colleagues are unable to control themselves when they see these vast sums.”

To address this challenge, Asomaning called for a more aggressive approach to ethics training, beyond the standard programs already in place.

“It’s important for us as an industry to double down on training and sensitisation on these topics of ethics and good moral character,” he noted.

He revealed that the Chartered Institute of Bankers, in collaboration with the National Banking College, is now offering an ethics module free of charge to banks to ensure that every staff member is equipped with the right moral compass.

“It should be made mandatory,” Asomaning insisted.

“I mean, all banks have ethics programs that they’ve rolled out to their staff. But ethics is an area where you cannot have too much of, because of the temptations you face daily, the pressures from customers, from other parties, from family members—it’s excessive. So being reminded of the need to constantly maintain that high moral line is extremely important.”

His remarks come amid rising concerns about banking fraud in Ghana, with several cases of insider-related financial misconduct surfacing in recent years.

Industry stakeholders have been calling for stricter compliance measures, and Asomaning believes ethics training should be at the core of that effort.

“This is not just about compliance. This is about protecting the reputation of the industry, protecting jobs, and most importantly, maintaining the trust of the public,” he concluded.