bank of ghana

BoG Clarifies Reason For Delays In Filing Financial Statement To Finance Minister

BoG Clarifies Reason For Delays In Filing Financial Statement To Finance Minister

Director of Research at the Bank of Ghana has provided some clarity over claims by the Minority in parliament over what they describe as the banks’ failure to file financial statements for nearly six months. According to Philip Abradu-Otoo, Section 58(1) (b) of Bank of Ghana Act 2002 (Act 612) requires the Bank to submit to the Minister for Finance an annual report of the Bank for the year and publish same within the six months from the end of the financial year to which the annual report relates. "The reporting obligation is to the Minister of Finance. Recognizing this fact, the Bank of Ghana informed…
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Lending To Private Sector Increased In First Quarter Of 2023 – BoG

Lending To Private Sector Increased In First Quarter Of 2023 – BoG

The Bank of Ghana in its monetary policy report says lending to the private sector increased significantly in February 2023 to GH¢65.50 billion, compared with GH¢50.59 billion recorded in February 2022. ‘’Outstanding credit to the private sector at the end of February 2023 was GH¢65.50 billion, compared with GH¢50.59 billion recorded in February 2022. In real terms, private sector credit contracted by 15.3 percent compared with 1.2 percent contraction recorded over the same comparative period,’’ the report said. According to the Central Bank, the development reflected portfolio reallocation by banks and exchange rate revaluation on foreign currency-denominated credit. Consistent with…
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Value Of Loans Decline In Q1 2023 – BoG Report

Value Of Loans Decline In Q1 2023 – BoG Report

The first quarter of 2023 witnessed a 19.23 percent decline in value of secured loans compared to the same period in 2022, with banks experiencing a significant decrease. According to the Collateral Registry Report published by the Bank of Ghana, the total value of secured loans was GH¢5.26billion in Q1 2023 – down from GH¢6.5billion in Q1 2022. Among the lending institutions, banks accounted for the largest share of secured loans with a total of GH¢4.3billion, representing a 25.1 percent decrease from the previous year. This figure constituted 82.4 percent of total secured loans in Q1 2023. On the other hand,…
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We’re Working On Concerns Raised By Bank Of Ghana – Fidelity Bank Assures

We’re Working On Concerns Raised By Bank Of Ghana – Fidelity Bank Assures

Fidelity Bank has assured stakeholders and customers that the bank is addressing the reporting concerns raised by the Bank of Ghana. In the interim, Fidelity said, it has reached agreements with its partner banks to aid in the seamless completion of foreign exchange transactions on behalf of Fidelity Bank. “We refer to Bank of Ghana’s notice to the public, of a suspension of our Foreign Exchange trading licence, and wish to reiterate that this does not in any way affect Fidelity Bank’s normal banking operations. “While we address the reporting concerns raised by our regulator, we have in the interim…
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BoG Suspends Forex Licenses Of Fidelity Bank, First National Bank

BoG Suspends Forex Licenses Of Fidelity Bank, First National Bank

 The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has fined Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited and First National Bank Ghana Limited a combined 1000 penalty points each for breaching sections 3.4, 3.5, and 3.9 of the Ghana Interbank Forex Market Conduct rules. In addition, the Bank has suspended the respective forex licences of the banks from 29th June 2023 to 28th July 2023. “By this notice, we caution forex market players including banks, forex bureaus, forex brokers, and money transfer operators (MTOs) to adhere strictly to the applicable forex market regulations and guidelines,” a statement from the BoG said. Source: Myjoyonline
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Value Of Secured Loans With Collateral Decreased To GH¢5.6 Billion In Q1 Of 2023 – BoG

Value Of Secured Loans With Collateral Decreased To GH¢5.6 Billion In Q1 Of 2023 – BoG

The Bank of Ghana’s Collateral Registry Quarterly Report has shown that the value of secured loans for which collateral was registered by banks and SDIs was GH¢5.26 billion in the first quarter of 2023. This is relative to the GH¢6.5 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2022 indicating a year-on-year decline of 19.23 percent. Secured loans are loans that are taken against secured assets such as a home or a landed property. Therefore, according to the first quarter report by the Bank of Ghana, banks accounted for GH¢4.3 billion of total secured loans. This represented a 25.1 percent decrease from the…
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Do Not Take Loans From These 97 Unlicensed Online Loan Apps – BoG Warns

Do Not Take Loans From These 97 Unlicensed Online Loan Apps – BoG Warns

The Bank of Ghana has warned against taking loans from over 97 unlicensed online loan applications. According to the Central Bank, the influx of these loan apps is in contravention of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930). The bank said it had observed the persistent operation of unlicensed entities that are engaged in the provision of loans through mobile applications to the Ghanaian public. The Bank reiterated that the activities of these entities significantly breach customer data and privacy laws, as well as consumer protection requirements and norms, with unfavourable implications for the integrity and well-being of their…
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T-bills Auction: Government Records 15% Oversubscription, But At Higher Cost Of 23.9%

T-bills Auction: Government Records 15% Oversubscription, But At Higher Cost Of 23.9%

The government overturned its recent under-subscription of treasury bills sales to record about 15% oversubscription of its targeted amount of ¢2.08 billion. However, that was primarily due to a reduction in the targeted amount. According to figures from the Bank of Ghana, the government got about ¢2.4 billion from the T-bills auction across the 91-day and 182-day. Once again, the chunk of the bids came from the 91-day bill. A little over ¢1.59 billion were tendered by the investors for the 3-month financial instrument. The government accepted over 99% of the bids. For the 182-day T-bill, about ¢816 million were…
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BoG To Reverse Foreign Exchange Control Measures

BoG To Reverse Foreign Exchange Control Measures

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison, has revealed plans to reverse the foreign exchange (FX) control measures implemented last year in response to declining reserves at the time. Those measures included the withdrawal of foreign exchange support for the importation of certain non-critical or essential goods – such as rice, poultry, vegetable oils, toothpicks, pasta, fruit-juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles. Going forward, the central bank will favour a unified FX market. The decision to nullify those measures follows approval of a 36-month arrangement under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) US$3billion Extended Credit Facility (ECF), as stated in the IMF’s staff…
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BoG Takes Steps To Curb Cyber Threats

BoG Takes Steps To Curb Cyber Threats

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has inaugurated an advanced command centre, the latest in its cybersecurity infrastructure, established to ensure the delivery of a safer digital financial industry. Dubbed the ‘Financial Industry Command Security Operations Centre (FICSOC)’, the move comes in the face of increased cybersecurity risks in the country and across the world. The facility is the first of its kind, funded and owned by a central bank in the sub-region. It also forms a core part of BoG’s efforts to share threat intelligence, create industry situational awareness and improve the incident-response of regulated institutions. In 2018, the BoG issued cyber…
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