bank of ghana Archives - Page 6 of 10

25 May

BoG Takes Steps To Curb Cyber Threats

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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…

24 May

First Tranche Of $600 Million IMF Loan Will Go Towards Budget Support – BoG

wontumionlineBusinessbank of ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, imf

Central Bank Governor, Dr Ernest Addison has disclosed that the first disbursement of $600 million out of the US$3 billion loan facility from the International Monetary Fund will go towards supporting government’s 2023 budget. According to him, the Bank of Ghana will credit the cedi equivalent of the amount to government in order to allow it support its budgetary programmes. “The IMF was very clear from the beginning in terms of this particular transfer, that it was specifically for the budget support. “The BoG will however benefit, when it comes to the forex inflows, this is because we will take the dollars and credit…

23 May

DDEP: Banks Given Up To September To Submit Plans For Recapitalisation – BoG

wontumionlineBusinessbank of ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison

Central Bank Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, has said that all commercial banks whose capital has been affected by the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) will have up to September this year to submit their recapitalisation plans to the Bank of Ghana. He noted that banks are expected to approach their shareholders before the recapitalisation exercise adding that should they encounter some difficulty in doing so, they may have to seek assistance from the yet-to-be operationalised Financial Sector Stability Fund. “Right now, we have reduced the capital adequacy ratio to 10 per cent and we are hoping that over the next three years,…

22 May

BoG Keeps Monetary Policy Rate Unchanged At 29.5%

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The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana has kept the policy rate unchanged at 29.5 percent. The decision comes after the MPC of the Central Bank held its third meeting for 2023 to review economic developments in the country. Governor of the Central Bank, Dr Ernest Addison explained that the MPC assessed that the recent approval of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement with the IMF has reinforced recovery efforts aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability. "This should further help reestablish investor confidence in the domestic economy. While this development is positive for the domestic economy, it is conditional…

22 May

Ghana’s Public Debt Reduces To GH¢434.6 Billion, 71% Of GDP

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Ghana’s public debt stood at GH¢434.6 billion as of December 2022 according to the Bank of Ghana’s Summary of Economic and Financial Data for April 2023. This is a reduction of GH¢141.1 billion in the country’s public debt. This represents 71.6% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. This is a reduction of 23.1% away from the 93.5% recorded in November 2022. In November 2022, the country’s public debt stood at GH¢575.7 billion representing 93.5% of GDP. According to the Bank of Ghana, a chunk of Ghana’s debt is held in the external debt portfolio to the tune of GH¢240.2 billion representing 39.4%,…

22 May

Ghana’s Import Cover Increases To 2.6 Months After Receipt Of IMF Loan – BoG

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The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, has noted that as of May 19, 2023, after the first tranche of the $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan hit the Bank of Ghana’s account, Ghana’s gross international reserves have increased to $5.7 billion. This is indicative of 2.6 months of import cover. He made the statement at the 112th Monetary Policy committee meeting on May 22, 2023. He said: “Gross International Reserves at the end of March 2023 stood at US$5.1 billion, equivalent to 2.4 months of import cover, compared with the end-December 2022 stock position of US$6.2 billion, equivalent to 2.7…

19 May

Tighter Monetary Policy Expected Under IMF Programme – Bog

wontumionlineBusinessbank of ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison

The Bank of Ghana’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is currently meeting to determine the country’s future monetary policy, amid calls from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to continue tightening monetary policy until inflation is firmly on a declining trajectory and to eliminate monetary financing of the budget. The impact of such a position on Ghana’s economy will be significant, with a continuation of the current policy likely leading to a further slowdown in economic growth. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy has been hit hard by various shocks including currency depreciation – requiring a careful balance between policies that…

11 May

Banking Sector Remains Robust And Liquid Despite Economic Headwinds – BoG

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The Second Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Elsie Addo Awadzi, has reassured stakeholders in the banking industry that despite current economic headwinds and debt restructuring efforts, the sector remains robust, liquid and solvent. According to her, prior to the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, banking sector clean-up exercise and recapitalisation of banks ensured that the industry had the required capital and liquidity to contain macroeconomic shocks. “Indeed, our banking sector remains solvent and liquid even after the pandemic, in the face of recent macroeconomic challenges, and in particular the Government debt restructuring efforts. It is worth mentioning that the banking sector…

04 May

BoG Rolls Out Online Supervisory And Reporting Tool To Harmonise Data Collection

wontumionlineBusinessbank of ghana, Elsie Addo Awadzi

The Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Elsie Addo Awadzi, has disclosed that the Central Bank has recently implemented a new online reporting and analytics supervisory tool (ORASS). According to her, the tool forms part of efforts to harmonise data collection from various licensed institutions, and improve data analytics and reporting. Speaking at the ISSER-World Bank public engagement on 2021 Ghana Findex Report, Mrs Addo Awadzi said the ORASS will further unify the licensing of databases with prudential reporting databases to help achieve more comprehensive and effective supervision of licensed institutions. “ORASS enables our regulated institutions to submit their…

11 Apr

Post-COVID Financing Decisions Were To Save The Economy From Collapsing – Bog

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The Director of Research at the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Philip Abradu-Otoo, has stated that the financing measures that the Central Bank adopted in 2022 were to save the economy from collapse. According to him, the bank had to take the initiatives to protect the economy instead of only strictly sticking to issues of fiscal dominance. He also noted that a chunk of the financing decisions they made went to investors. “So, from the Central Bank’s point of view, we realized we needed an economy to protect. So, there were choices that had to be made, should we allow the…