BoG Archives - Page 19 of 23

07 Feb

Demand For Dollars Ease; Bog Sold Only $9.2m On Spot Market

wontumionlineBusinessBoG, CEDI, dollar, Euro, pound

Demand for dollars continued to ease as the Bank of Ghana sold only $9.2 million on the spot market last week (January 30 – February 3, 2023). Analysts and Market watchers believe the progress made by government on the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) will positively improve investor confidence in the economy, boosting the outlook of the cedi. The deadline for the programme is expected to end today February 7, 2023. All things being equal, the attainment of the 80% subscription target will enhance the outlook of the cedi for the rest of the year. The local currency gained across…

06 Feb

Ghana To Securitise $3.3bn In Central Bank Loans

wontumionlineBusinessBoG, Ghana, imf, loans, securitise

Ghana plans to convert an estimated ¢40 billion ($3.3 billion) of loans owed to its central bank into bonds, making it the single biggest holder of domestic government securities and exposing it to an ongoing debt restructuring, according to people familiar with the matter. The bonds, due to be issued by the finance ministry, will also cover interest owed to the Bank of Ghana, said the people, who asked not to be named because they’re not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The people didn’t provide details on a timeline for the securitisation, but Ghana is seeking to conclude…

31 Jan

Economic Activity Moderates; But Business, Consumer Confidence Improves – BoG Governor

wontumionlineBusinessBoG, businesses confidence, CIEA, Consumer Confidence, Economic activity

Economic activity moderated in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Bank of Ghana’s high frequency indicators has disclosed. The updated Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) contracted by 6.2% in November 2022, compared with a growth of 10.2% in the same period of 2021. According to the Central Bank, the major items that weighed down the Index during the period were port activity, cement sales, imports, and industrial consumption of electricity. Meanwhile, latest confidence surveys conducted by the Central Bank in December 2022 pointed to some marginal improvement in sentiments. Consumer confidence improved on the back of the recent reductions…

31 Jan

Total Mobile Money Transactions Hit Record ¢1.07trillion In 2022

wontumionlineBusinessBoG, E-levy, Mobile money transactions

Total Mobile Money transactions in 2022 hit a record ¢1.07 trillion despite the existence of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy), the January 2022 Summary of Economic and Financial Data by the Bank of Ghana has revealed. This is compared with about ¢902.5 billion recorded in 2022 According to the data, the biggest transactions occurred in December 2022 and November 2022, whereby ¢122 billion and ¢117 billion respectively were recorded. There were fears that the implementation of the E-Levy in May 2022 was going to affect Mobile Money transactions, but that has not been the case. From the data, Mobile Money…

31 Jan

BoG Needs To Work Hard On Threats To Solvency Of Banks – Banking Consultant

wontumionlineBusiness, Newsbank of ghana, Banks, BoG, Debt exchange programme, Dr Richmond Atuahene

Banking Consult, Dr. Richmond Atuahene has adviced the Central Bank to put its best foot forward to eliminate the various increased pressures on the liquidity of banks and the threat to their solvency. Dr. Atuahene said the situation if not managed properly will affect the ability of banks to lend to private sectors and small businesses and cause a depletion of regulatory capital. “From where I sit and the calculations in front of me, Bank of Ghana would need to work hard because out of the 23 (banks), I do not know which one would stay if we go by…

31 Jan

Policy Rate Increases To 28%; Cost Of Loans To Surge

wontumionlineBusinessAverage lending rates, BoG, policy rate

The Monetary Policy Rate of the Bank of Ghana has increased its policy rate – the rate at which it lends to commercial banks – by 100 basis points to 28%. Within a year, the rate has gone up by a staggering 13.5% The Central Bank cited downside risks to inflation and exchange rate depreciation as the major reason. These risks have been driven by fiscal imbalances. “In the interim, the MPC [Monetary Policy Committee] sees the need to remain vigilant and moderate liquidity in the system to underpin macroeconomic adjustments taking place to drive inflation on a downward path.…

30 Jan

BoG, Finance Ministry Commit To Zero-Financing Of Budget As IMF Pre-Condition

wontumionlineBusinessBoG, ICAG, imf, Osei Gyasi

The Bank of Ghana says it has reached an agreement with the Finance Ministry to commit to zero financing of this year’s budget and subsequent ones. Joy Business is learning that the proposed policy is a pre-condition for the country to secure a fund programme from the IMF. Speaking at the launch of the 60th anniversary celebrations by the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG), Head of Banking Supervision at the Bank of Ghana, Osei Gyasi, said the move is also necessary to contain the country’s rising debt as well as control inflation. “Monetary financing of the government deficit which…

25 Jan

Cedi To Continue Stability Against Dollar

wontumionlineBusinessBDCs, BoG, CEDI, dollar

The Ghana cedi is expected to further stabilise against the US dollar on the back of continued Bank of Ghana support. The cedi traded at a mid-rate of ¢12.90, losing 1.55% value to the American greenback the past week. This is against about 7.48% the previous week. The local currency’s performance has been better this week as it continues its stability in the retail or forex market. It is being quoted at ¢10.36 to one US dollar on the interbank market. Last week, the foreign exchange auction for the Bulk Oil Distribution Companies was suspended because the first batch of…

24 Jan

Cocoa Bills Default: Bog, COCOBOD Agree To Allow Banks To Use COCOBOD’s Deposits To Pay Retail Customers

wontumionlineBusinessBanks, BoG, Cocoa bills, COCOBOD

The Bank of Ghana, Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the commercial banks have agreed to allow banks to use COCOBOD’s deposits/placements at the banks to cater for retail customers who may not want a rollover of their cocoa bills. This is coming after the BoG initially directed banks not to pay customers their maturing cocoa bills investments, following cash flow challenges facing COCOBOD. In a statement, the Central Bank said it expects that this short-term cash flow challenges facing COCOBOD will be resolved soon to enable the cocoa regulator meet its obligations to investors. “COCOBOD has assured us that the…

18 Jan

Gold Has Picked; We Can Buy Enough To Sustain ‘Gold-For-Crude’ Programme – BoG

wontumionlineBusinessBoG, Gold, GOLD FOR CRUDE

The Director of Financial Market at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Stephen Opata has assured that the central bank can buy enough gold to ensure the Gold-for-Crude programme is sustained. He said this on Monday, January 16, when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). “As for the quantities, based on the production numbers we saw last year, gold has picked up. We believe that we can buy enough gold to sustain the program. “I must say that the numbers we are currently looking at is about 160,000 ounces per month and that will represent about 50 to 60 per…