Monthly Archives - March 2022

BoG purchases 600 kilogrammes of gold to boost reserves

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has purchased 600 kilogrammes of gold under its Domestic Gold Purchase (DGP) programme to help shore up the country’s foreign exchange reserves, Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, has said. He disclosed this on Monday after the 105th regular meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee press conference, in response to a question on the quantity of gold the...

Reversal of COVID-19 era reliefs to banks will mop up excess liquidity – Nana Otuo

Banking consultant Nana Otuo Acheampong is confident that the reversal of the COVID-19 era reliefs given to Universal Banks, will help in mopping up excess liquidity within the banking system. According to him, instead of lending to the private sector, banks in the country continue to use the excess liquidity they have to buy treasury bills. Per the latest Monetary Policy...

T-Bills sales fall massively by 66% despite policy rate hike, other fiscal measures

Government Treasury Bills sale fell massively by 66.8% despite the increase in the Policy Rate by the Bank of Ghana to 17% and the announcement of fiscal measures by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, last week. According to auctioning results by the Bank of Ghana, government was only able to secure ¢733 million, from a whopping target of ¢2.21 billion. Government...

Mobile Money transactions record 13% year-on-year growth to ¢76.2bn in January 2022

Mobile Money transactions in the first month (January) of 2022 grew by 13.56% year-on-year to ¢76.2 billion, the Bank of Ghana has revealed in its Summary of Economic and Financial Data. In the month of January 2021, mobile money transactions stood at ¢67.1 billion. In December 2021, ¢82.9 billion was recorded due to the Christmas festivities. Based on the trend of Mobile...

Association of Bankers wants government to maintain Capital Conservation Buffer at 1.5%

The Ghana Association of Bankers wants government to rescind its decision to reset the Capital Conservation Buffer (CCB) for banks to the pre-pandemic level of 3%. CEO of the Association, John Awuah, believes that since businesses and the economy have not fully recovered from the ramifications of the pandemic, it is only prudent to maintain the rate at 1.5% to...

Hike in policy rate will affect lending rates – Banking Consultant

The recent hike in the monetary policy rate by 250 basis points to 17% by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), will inevitably lead to an upward adjustment in average lending rates to businesses and individuals. The Monetary Policy Rate, which is of keen interest to businesses, signals the rate at which the Central Bank...

Banks lose 96% customer complaints to regulator – ARB Executive Director

About 96% of disgruntled bank customers do not complain directly to their respective banks when they encounter a challenge during their banking transactions, the Executive Director of Association of Rural Banks, Ghana Mrs Comfort Owusu has revealed. According to her, this revelation is backed by empirical research by marketing experts, stating such dissatisfied customers do not complain directly...

Keep calm, cedi will stabilise soon – Addison

Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, has calmed nerves over the current rapid depreciation of the cedi, saying, the bank is implementing interventions that will stabilise the local currency against its major trading currencies in the shortest possible time. His comments come on the back of concerns over the cedi’s sharp loss of value within...

Bank of Ghana’s March 2022 Monetary Policy Committee briefing [Full text]

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has increased the Monetary Policy Rate by 250 basis points to 17 percent. This is the first time the Central Bank has increased the key rate since November 2021. In his address to the media on Monday, March 21, 2022, Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Ernest Addison, noted that all is being done to check...