President John Dramani Mahama has appointed economist, Johnson Asiama as Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, a statement from the bank said Friday.

This follows the elevation of Abdul Nasiru Isahaku who was second Deputy Governor to the substantive Governor after the retirement of Kofi Wampah late March.

Asiama joined the Bank of Ghana in 1996 and rose through the ranks to Assistant Director until his appointment.

The new Deputy Governor had served in various departments such as the Banking Supervision Department, the Financial Markets Department, the Research Department and the Governors' Department.

As coordinator of the work of the Monetary Policy Committee, he supported the work of the Governors directly.

Asiama holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Southampton in Britain and an MPhil in Economics from the University of Ghana, Legon.

The new Deputy Governor also brings to the job experience as Director of the Macroeconomic Management Department at the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) in Lagos, Nigeria between 2010 and 2013.

At WAIFEM, Asiama designed and managed the capacity building program for staff of central banks, Ministries of Finance, and other public sector institutions across the West African sub-region.