By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Governor of Ghana’s central bank, the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, has revealed that there has been a major improvement in the country’s financial sector, especially in the area of Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio.
According to him NPL ratio improved to 18.9 percent in December 2025, from 21.8 percent in 2024, but was quick to admit that although there has been some remarkable improvement, the 18.9% remained high.
Dr Asiama, who said this during the 128th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference held on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, noted that, “Ongoing policy measures aimed at resolving legacy loans, enforcing strict credit underwriting standards, and addressing wilful defaults are expected to further improve asset quality”.
He announced that the country’s banking sector recorded a strong performance in the year-ending 2025.
The Governor explained that total assets of the sector increased in the year under review, driven by growth in domestic deposits, domestic borrowings, and shareholders’ funds.
The asset growth, he noted, was primarily reflected in investments, which increased significantly.
Dr Asiama added that the latest financial soundness indicators show that the banking sector was solvent, profitable, and efficient.
Regarding the external sector performance, the Governor indicated that the sector recorded a robust performance. Noting that the year ended with a provisional current account surplus of US$9.1 billion, up from US$1.5 billion in 2024, driven by strong gold export earnings, increased private transfers, and a moderation in the services and income payments.
“These developments, together with high capital inflows, resulted in a provisional balance of payments surplus of US$3.98 billion.
Gross International Reserves increased to US$13.8 billion, equivalent to 5.7 months of import cover, at end-December 2025, compared to US$9.1 billion, equivalent to 4.1 months of import cover at end-December 2024,” he said.
Dr Asiama pointed out that improved reserve accumulation provided buffers for the local currency.
The cedi strengthened against the major trading currencies in 2025 and has remained relatively stable in the first few weeks of 2026, he said.
“The currency’s strong performance reflected favourable global conditions, prudent monetary policy, effective liquidity management, and significant reserve buildup.
In 2025, the cedi recorded an appreciation of 40.7 percent against the US dollar, compared with a depreciation of 19.2 percent in 2024,” Dr Asiama enumerated.
