BoG Archives - Page 18 of 23

13 Mar

T-bills Auction: Interest Rates Fall To 19%; Government Gets ¢4.20Bn

wontumionlineBusiness182-day, 364-day, 91-day, BoG, T-Bills

Interest rates remarkably fell significantly within just a week, following the government’s decision to reject bids with higher yields. According to the latest auction by the Bank of Ghana, the 91-day yield fell once again to 19.04% from 24.16% last week. From a high of 35% a week ago, interest rates on the short term securities have dipped significantly on the yield curve. Whilst the 91-day bill yield has fallen by 16%, that of the 182-day bill has plunged by about 13%, going for 22.84%. The 364-day bill has also dropped by about 9% to 26.82% on Friday March 10,…

08 Mar

T-bills Auction: Government Gets ¢6.15bn At 24% Interest

wontumionlineBusiness182-day, 364-day, 91-day, BoG, T-Bills, yield

The government beat the cost of its Treasury bills down significantly, securing ¢6.15 billion from the latest auction, about 121.6% oversubscription. It however accepted ¢4.52 billion of the bids from the investors, largely banks. According to results from the Bank of Ghana, the government reduced the pricing of the short term instruments from 35% to a yield of 24.16% for the 91-day T-bills. However, that of the 182-day and 364-day bills were sold at 26.55% and 27.54% respectively. The results further indicate that the 91-day T-bill received bids worth ¢2.73 billion. However, the government accepted ¢1.16 billion. For the 182-day…

02 Mar

Domestic Debt Exchange: BoG Reiterates Position Of Closely Monitoring Banks To Prevent Insolvency

wontumionlineBusinessBanks, BoG, Domestic Debt Exchange, Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Advisors

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has reiterated that it is closely monitoring some developments among banks due to the Domestic Debt Exchange which is increasing liquidity pressures. This is to help reduce any pressure on their balance sheet and consequently avert the probability of insolvency. Speaking on behalf of the Governor at the Induction Ceremony of the Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Advisors, Head of Resolution Office, Elliot Amoako, said macro prudential risk assessment of the banking sector indicates an emergence of spill over from the current economic challenges on the banking industry. He, however, appealed to the insolvency…

27 Feb

T-bills a=Auction: Government Gets ¢5.06bn; Sale Oversubscribed By 75%

wontumionlineBusiness182-day, 364-day, 91-day, BoG, T-Bills

Government Treasury bills sale were oversubscribed by 75% to the tune of ¢5.06 billion. According to the auction result published by the Bank of Ghana, participation of the 91-day T-bill was almost to the tune of ¢3 billion. Indeed, the 91-day and the 364-day bills recorded immense investor participation. Whilst the 3-months received bids of about ¢2.93 billion, that of the one-year bill got bids worth about ¢1.46 billion. All the bids were, however, accepted by the government. For the 182-day bill, all the bids of about ¢665 million were accepted. Meanwhile, interest rates retreated further for the third week…

22 Feb

Number Of Advertised Jobs In 2022 Falls To 32,651 – BoG

wontumionlineBusinessAdvertised Jobs, BoG, Online, print

The total number of advertised jobs in selected print and online media in 2022, which partially gauges labour demand in the economy, fell by 5.3% to 32,651, the Bank of Ghana has revealed. This is against 34,484 recorded during 2021. But the number of jobs advertised increased in December 2022 relative to a year ago. According to the Bank of Ghana, 3,277 job adverts were recorded as compared with 2,588 for the same period in 2021, an increase of 26.6% year-on-year. On a month-on-month basis, the number of job vacancies in December 2022 went up by 17.9% from the 2,779…

22 Feb

Cedi Lost 3.14% Value To Dollar Last Week; Near-Term Outlook Uncertain

wontumionlineBusinessBoG, CEDI, dollar

The Ghana cedi lost about 3.14% value to the US dollar last week as the renewed depreciatory pressures set in. It started the week at about ¢12.50 to the American greenback, but ended the week at about ¢12.70. The local currency also declined by 1.97% to the pound and 1.49% to the euro respectively in the retail market. Although the Bank of Ghana continued to intervene in the market, it could only sell $5 million on the spot market. This did not ease the demand pressures. In the forward market, the regulator received and allocated $30 million at a 30-day…

21 Feb

Banks Wrote-Off ¢5.9Bn As Bad Debt In 2022

wontumionlineBusinessBad debt, Banks, BoG, NPLs

Banks operating in Ghana wrote-off about ¢5.9 billion as bad debt in December 2022. According to the Domestic Money Banks Income Statement, this is about 184.2% increase over the previous year. The total provision made were classified as loan losses, depreciation, and others. Though the Bank of Ghana did not give reasons behind this bad debt, it is believed that a difficult economic environment that triggered a high cost of borrowing may be the main reason. According to the Bank of Ghana, the industry’s Non-Performing Loan stock increased from ¢8.2 billion in December 2021 to ¢10.4 billion in December 2022.…

21 Feb

Bonds Constituted 76.4% Of Banks Investments In 2022

wontumionlineBusinessBoG, Bonds, Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, T-Bills

Securities or long-term debt instruments or bonds were the largest components of banks’ investment portfolios in 2022. This is despite the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme. According to the Bank of Ghana, its share increased to 76.4% in December 2022 from 75.3% in December 2021. The share of short-term bills or Treasury bills in total investments, however, declined to 23.3%, from 24.4% over the same comparative period. Also, the share of equity investments remained negligible at 0.3%. Banks investments contracted by 4.8% in 2022 Meanwhile, banks investments contracted by 4.8% to ¢79.2 billion in December 2022 from a growth of 29%…

20 Feb

Cedi Losses Some Stability; $1 Equals ¢12.90

wontumionlineBusinessBoG, CEDI, DDEP, dollar

The recent gains by the Ghana cedi has come to a halt as the local currency lost some stability to the US dollar today February 20, 2023. At the forex bureaus today, the cedi was going for ¢12.90 to one American ‘greenback’. The same story could also be told about the pound and the euro, as the cedi was being sold for ¢15.20 and ¢13.60 respectively. However, the Bank of Ghana is quoting a dollar at ¢10.80 on the interbank market. On Friday, February 17, 2023, the cedi traded at ¢12.75 to one American currency. Prior to that, the cedi…

20 Feb

Inflation Likely To Peak In Quarter 1, 2023 – BoG Affirms Position

wontumionlineBusinessBoG, Inflation, January 2023 Monetary Policy Report

The Bank of Ghana has reiterated that inflation is likely to peak in the first quarter of 2023 and gradually ease thereafter. However, headline inflation is projected to remain above the upper band of 8±2 percent until the second half of 2025. In its January 2023 Monetary Policy Report, the Central Bank said its decision to keep the policy rate high was due to the significant upside risks to the inflation outlook. On the domestic front, the report said the continuous monetary policy tightening and the relative stability in the exchange rate in December 2022 led to some moderation in…