BoG

Ghana’s Trade Surplus Increases By 16 Percent To Hit $2.058Bn
27 Nov

Ghana’s Trade Surplus Increases By 16 Percent To Hit $2.058Bn

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Latest data from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) show that Ghana’s trade balance increased by US$310 million between July and October. This means Ghana’s trade balance grew by about 16 percent from the US$1.75 billion recorded in July 2023. It brings the country’s total trade balance to US$2.058 billion as of October 2023, representing 2.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as captured by the Bank of Ghana’s November 2023 Summary of Economic and Financial Data. The year-on-year interpretation indicates that this new trade balance also represents a 10 percentage points increase from the US$1.85 billion recorded in October 2022.…
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BoG Releases List Of Unapproved Money Transfer Organisations
17 Nov

BoG Releases List Of Unapproved Money Transfer Organisations

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The Bank of Ghana has cautioned the general public to desist from dealing with unapproved Money Transfer Organisations (MTOs). In a statement, the BoG said a number of these MTOs operating within the remittance and the Ghana Forex Market were without approval from it. These organisations include “LEMFI, WISE, TRANSFER GO, XOOM-A PAYPAL SERVICE, SENDWALU, BOSS REVOLUTION, BTC-AZA FINANCE, and SUPERSONIC.” BoG, therefore, said, “the Public, Banks, Dedicated Electronic Money Issuers (DEMI), and Enhanced Payment Service Providers (EPSP) are, by this Notice, cautioned to desist from dealing with any of the institutions named above.” BoG also reminded approved MTOs to…
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Be Careful Whom You Guarantee Loans For – BoG To Consumers
08 Nov

Be Careful Whom You Guarantee Loans For – BoG To Consumers

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The Bank of Ghana is advising consumers to be wary of whom they guarantee loans for. According to the Central Bank, the guarantor will be compelled to repay the loan with accrued interest if the borrower fails to honour their obligation. In a notice, the regulator of the banking industry also advised guarantors to assess the repayment capabilities of the borrower before guaranteeing any credit facility or loan. “Assess the repayment capabilities of the borrower before guaranteeing any credit facility or loan. Don’t forget that as a guarantor, you will be required to pay back any outstanding loan balance, if…
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We Are Always Ready To Tame Inflation – BoG
07 Nov

We Are Always Ready To Tame Inflation – BoG

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The Bank of Ghana has indicated its readiness to respond appropriately to tame inflation should consumer prices go up in the coming months. Speaking at the opening of a regional course organised by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management with support from the International Monetary Fund, Director of Research, Dr. Philip Abradu-Otoo, underscored the importance of monetary policy in managing economic fluctuations with the view of achieving price stability. According to him, the Central Bank is ready to respond appropriately should inflation rise. “Because of the current global and domestic macro-economic developments, the Monetary Policy Committee of…
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T-Bills Auction: Interest Rates Up For 36th Week Running; Government Records 33% Oversubscription
06 Nov

T-Bills Auction: Interest Rates Up For 36th Week Running; Government Records 33% Oversubscription

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Interest rates went up for the 36th week running as the increasing cost of borrowing will bite the government in the future. The yield on the 91-day T-bill went up to 29.96% from the prior week of 29.81%. That of the 182-day bill increased by 47 basis points to 32.14%. For the 364-day bill, it also surged to 33.70% from 33.42% the preceding week. The rising interest rates may bite the government as interest payments will shoot up. Meanwhile, the government recorded 33.01% oversubscription of the T-bills sale to the tune of ¢2.86 billion, according to the auction results by the…
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Fitch Predicts Increase In BoG’s Foreign Reserves To $7.7Bn In 2025
02 Nov

Fitch Predicts Increase In BoG’s Foreign Reserves To $7.7Bn In 2025

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Ratings agency, Fitch, is predicting an increase in the Bank of Ghana’s foreign reserves to $7.7 billion in 2025, from $4.4 billion in 2022. This will put the import cover or months of current external payments to three months. “Current account surpluses and projected disbursements from international financial institutions will increase Bank of Ghana's foreign reserves by an estimated $1.1 billion per year in 2023-2025, after a $4.4 billion fall in 2022, reaching $7.7 billion (about three months of current external payments) in 2025, from 1.6 months in 2022.” The rating agency also said non-payment of interest on selected external…
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NAM1 Reacts To Decision Of Police To Deposit GH₵2.‎5m At BoG
25 Oct

NAM1 Reacts To Decision Of Police To Deposit GH₵2.‎5m At BoG

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Embattled Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Menzgold Ghana Limited, has stated that he will go back to the Ghana Police Service and take his 2.5 million Ghana cedis sent to them for distribution. According to him, the police acted wrongly in sending the money to the Bank of Ghana. Speaking on Accra-based Star FM, NAM 1 said if the police cannot assist in the distribution of the money, he will make his own security arrangements and have the money distributed to customers. “The intent was not to give money to the police to distribute. We went to the police because…
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T-bills Now Constitute Banks Largest Investment Portfolio; Increase To 51% From 17.8% – BoG
23 Oct

T-bills Now Constitute Banks Largest Investment Portfolio; Increase To 51% From 17.8% – BoG

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Investment in treasury bills now constitutes banks largest investment portfolio the Bank of Ghana has revealed in its September 2023 Monetary Policy Report. According to the report, the share of T-bills grew sharply to 51.0% in August 2023, from 17.8% in August 2022. Instructively, the significant increase in the share of short-term investments can be attributable to limited trading on the medium-to-long term instruments because of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme. Consequently, the share of long-term securities in total investments, declined significantly to 48.8%, from 81.9% over the same reference period. The share of equity investments remained negligible, moderating to…
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Banks Write Off ¢2.416Bn As Bad Loans As Of August 2023
23 Oct

Banks Write Off ¢2.416Bn As Bad Loans As Of August 2023

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Banks wrote off ¢2.416 billion as bad debt in the first eight months of this year, 36.4% increase over the previous year, highlights of Banks Income Statement by the Bank of Ghana as of August 2023. This is compared with ¢1.713 billion bad loans recorded ending June 2023. The provisioning was made up of loan losses, depreciation, among others. According to the Bank of Ghana, the banking industry’s asset quality weakened during the period under review reflected by the pickup in the Non-Performing Loan (NPL) stock and Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio. The industry’s NPL ratio rose to 20.0% in August…
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Finance Ministry, BoG Set Up Financial Oversight Desk At COCOBOD
19 Oct

Finance Ministry, BoG Set Up Financial Oversight Desk At COCOBOD

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Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta confirmed to Joy News the establishment of a monitoring desk by the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to observe the finances of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD). This is to ensure discipline in its expenditure. The Ghana Cocoa Board which is mandated to supervise the production and export of cocoa in the country is reeling under huge annual losses which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has identified as a major threat to the sector and government’s fiscal efforts. The Minister in an interview withJoyNews’ George Wiafe, said the purchase of fertilizers and…
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