Economic activity shot up in the third quarter of 2021 as the Bank of Ghana’s updated Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) recorded an annual growth of 11.2% in September 2021, compared with 10.8% and 4.2% in the corresponding periods of 2020 and 2019, respectively. According to the Monetary Policy Committee report, economic activity during the third quarter continues to...
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana has increased its Policy Rate – the rate at which it lends to commercial banks by 100 basis points (1%) to 14.5%, citing risks to inflation, exchange rate as well as fiscal and debt sustainability challenges. It’s the first time since 2015 that the MPC has increased its key lending...
A Financial Analyst, Martin Kwame Awagah, says, Ghana’s financial technology (fintech) sector has numerous prospects that investors can tap into to increase customer reach and profit. The prospects, which cut across every sector of the economy with the services sector being major beneficiaries, he said, presented economic gains to the country, including augmenting financial inclusiveness. Speaking at a virtual...
Ghana’s banking sector remains “well-capitalised, liquid, and profitable, backed by strong buffers to support the recovery process”, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said. Presenting the 2022 budget to parliament on Wednesday, 17 November 2022, Mr Ofori-Atta said: “Banks reported a strong balance sheet position as of end-September 2021, albeit with marginal declines in the annual growth rates of some key...
The Bank of Ghana has maintained its stance on consumer inflation, projecting it to remain within the medium-term target of 8 percent with a band of ±2 percent in the near-term – barring any unforeseen shocks. This, per the bank, will broadly be driven by food prices – which reflect recent supply shocks that are expected to put upward pressure...
The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications says the electronic transaction levy has the potential of undoing the gains made in digitising the economy. According to the Chamber, this policy initiative is at variance with steps taken by members to improve financial inclusion. The decision to slap a 1.75% tax on electronic transactions has been met with fierce opposition from a number of...
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has commended the Bank of Ghana and financial institutions in the country for the immense roles they have played towards the successful implementation of Ghana’s payment system. Speaking at opening of the 25th Annnual Banking Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Accra on Thursday, November 18, 2021, Dr. Bawumia, who is a...
The National Insurance Commission (NIC), has committed to ensure that all insurers are solvent by meeting the new minimum capital requirement for insurance firms by the December 31 deadline. The move will ensure that insurance companies operating in the country have sufficient funds to meet the obligations of their policyholders. That, the regulator said, was part of its mandate to strengthen...
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated a process to disqualify directors of the fifty-three defunct Fund Management Companies (FMCs) from operating in the capital market. SEC in 2019 revoked the licenses of 53 FMCs for regulatory breaches such as failing to return the funds of clients when they fall due. Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, Director-General (D-G) of SEC, disclosed this...
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Ken Ashigbey, has said that the introduction of the 1.75% levy on electronic financial transactions is ill-timed. He said the chamber was not consulted by the government on the proposal before the announcement was made in Parliament on Wednesday, November 17, 2021. “When we got this information, it was surprising because...
