Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, has called on commercial banks to play a more active role in financing Ghanaian entrepreneurs and export-oriented businesses, arguing that the country must convert recent macroeconomic stability into broad-based economic prosperity.
According to him, banks must move beyond their traditional role as lenders and position themselves as strategic partners in national development by creating innovative financial products tailored to the evolving needs of businesses and households.
Speaking at an engagement with banking sector executives in Accra on Tuesday, Dr Asiama said the long-term sustainability of Ghana’s financial system depended on the growth and resilience of the real sector.
“The challenge before us is not just to preserve stability but to transform stability into prosperity for our people,” he stated.
“Let us therefore leverage the stability and work together to channel capital into productive sectors, empower entrepreneurs, support exports, deepen regional integration and strengthen public confidence in our financial system.”
The Governor urged banks to take advantage of improving macroeconomic conditions, declining interest rates and advances in financial technology to expand support for productive economic activity.
He encouraged financial institutions to complement lending with business advisory services, export clinics and market-access support programmes to help businesses grow and create jobs.
“These are essential for generating sustainable credit demand, quality assets, employment and economic prosperity,” he noted.
Dr Asiama also reaffirmed the central bank’s commitment to working with banks and other stakeholders to strengthen mechanisms that convert remittance inflows into productive investments.
He disclosed that the Bank of Ghana was exploring innovative investment-linked remittance products capable of mobilising capital for business expansion, infrastructure development and long-term capital formation.
The Governor’s call comes as Ghana’s banking sector continues its strong recovery.
He revealed that total banking sector assets increased by 26.6% year-on-year to GH¢493.9 billion in April 2026.
The sector’s capital adequacy ratio also improved significantly, rising to 22.3% from 17.5% a year earlier.
At the same time, the industry’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio declined from 23.6% to 18%, reflecting improvements in asset quality and risk management.
Despite these gains, Dr Asiama cautioned banks against complacency and urged them to strengthen credit underwriting standards, improve loan recovery mechanisms and fully comply with regulatory measures aimed at reducing NPL levels to prudential targets.
He further called on banks to actively support Ghana’s ongoing third-round mutual evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), stressing that the outcome would have significant implications for correspondent banking relationships, investor confidence and Ghana’s international financial reputation.
On the broader economy, the Governor painted a positive picture of Ghana’s economic performance.
He disclosed that the Composite Index of Economic Activity grew by 12.6% in March 2026, compared with 2.3% during the same period in 2025.
The strong growth, he explained, was driven by robust expansion in private-sector credit, industrial activity, trade and consumer spending.
Inflation, however, edged up slightly to 3.7% in May 2026 from 3.2% in March, marking the first consecutive increase since December 2024.
Nonetheless, he said core inflation—which excludes food and energy prices—continued to decline, suggesting that underlying inflationary pressures remained subdued.
Dr Asiama noted that the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to maintain the policy rate at 14% reflected the central bank’s commitment to preserving macroeconomic stability while supporting economic recovery.
He also highlighted improvements in Ghana’s fiscal and external positions.
According to him, prudent expenditure management enabled the country to record a fiscal surplus equivalent to 0.1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the first quarter of 2026, outperforming programme targets.
The external sector also strengthened considerably, with the current account surplus reaching US$3.1 billion, supported by strong gold and cocoa export earnings as well as stable remittance inflows.
Gross international reserves rose to US$14.4 billion, providing 5.7 months of import cover and enhancing Ghana’s resilience against external economic shocks.
Dr Asiama said these gains present an opportunity for banks to become key drivers of economic transformation by directing more resources into productive sectors capable of generating jobs, exports and sustainable growth.
