Monetary Policy Report

21 Dec

Credit Risk Remains Elevated, Slows Down New Lending By Banks – BoG

Wontumi1BusinessBoG, Credit Risk, Monetary Policy Report, Private Sector Credit

Credit risk remained elevated during the third quarter of 2023, reflecting the sharp increase in the stock of non-performing loans in the banking industry, which translated into a higher NPL ratio. According to the Bank of Ghana’s November 2023 Monetary Policy Report, the stock of gross loans and advances (domestic and foreign) contracted between October 2022 and October 2023, reflecting a slowdown in new lending by banks and the effect of the appreciation of the Ghana cedi on the outstanding loan balance during the review period. Therefore, gross loans declined by 9.5% to ¢73.5 billion at end-October 2023, compared to…

23 Oct

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

Wontumi1BusinessBoG, DDEP, Monetary Policy Report, T-Bills

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…