The banking sector – like the rest of the economy – has come out of a very difficult year. What is your assessment of how the Covid-19 shock impacted the sector, and what explains banks’ apparent resilience to the crisis? Every sector and industry in the world has had to bear the carnage of COVID-19, and both Ghana and its...
Governor and Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, has said there are risks to the fiscal outlook despite signs of a return to fiscal consolidation in the first four months of 2021. According to the Governor, there has been some improvement in revenue collection and expenditure containment, which is ensuring a re-alignment...
There is growing confidence in the Ghanaian economy in view of the positive macroeconomic fundamentals and growth prospects, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison has said. He said the domination of the country’s bond market by non-residents demonstrated the confidence of both local and foreign investors in the Ghanaian economy. Dr Addison disclosed this in response to...
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has cut the policy rate by 100 basis points from 14.5 to 13.5 per cent on the back of the recovery of the economy and easing of inflation pressures. This is first time since November 2019, according to data by the website of the BoG, that the MPC has...
GCB Bank has reduced its interest rates on personal loans to 23 per cent per annum in what the Bank says are in line with measures to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on clients. As part of the measures, GCB Bank has also granted a two-month moratorium on both principal and interest repayment and increased loan tenor to five (5)...
Financial inclusion across developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana remain low even though much progress has been made in the last decade. According to the Global Financial Inclusion Data of the World Bank, the proportion of adult population in Ghana with financial account increased from 41 percent in 2014 to 58 percent in 2017. The data also...
Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison has lashed out at businesses that continually contract loans and fail to service them, calling for a cultural change in “businessmen in the way they treat borrowed money.” According to Dr Addison, the development was largely responsible for high non-performing loans and banks’ lack of enthusiasm to lend to the...
The Bank of Ghana is in the advanced stages of introducing a digital currency, the Governor of the central bank, Dr Ernest Addison has disclosed. According to Dr. Addison, the e-cedi will go through three phases before it goes into circulation. He said in the final stage, a pilot would determine whether the digital currency will be feasible before it goes...
The Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled a new 10-year capital market ‘Masterplan’, aimed at diversifying the capital market as well as boosting economic growth. The strategic plan is intended to help raise enough capital for key infrastructural projects in order to meet the country’s growth agenda. This is the maiden master plan for the capital market since the establishment of...
Despite uptick in demand for dollars, the Ghana cedi remains very well on course to record a marginal appreciation against the dollar in the first half of this year. Recent forex auctioning by the Bank of Ghana indicates a surge in demand for the American currency. But analysts believe the Bank of Ghana has sufficient forex reserves to deal with...
