Kofi Ahovi

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BoG targets NPL ratio below 10% as banks face tighter credit discipline

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has directed banks and specialised deposit-taking institutions to reduce their non-performing loan (NPL) ratios to no more than 10 per cent by the end of December 2026, as the central bank pushes for stronger credit risk management and financial stability. Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, said although the banking sector’s NPL ratio had improved significantly, the current level remained too high and continued to constrain the ability of banks to extend fresh credit to businesses. Dr. Asiama disclosed this at the BoG-CIRIP Ghana Forum on Non-Performing Loans and Post-Commencement Financing, held at Bank Square on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. According to him, the industry’s NPL ratio declined to 16.1 per cent in June 2026 from 23.1 per cent a year earlier, while the sector’s Capital Adequacy Ratio stood at 20.4 per cent. That is progress, not sufficiency, and 16.1 per cent remains too high,” Dr Asiama said. He said regulatory measures wer...

MTN mobile money fintech turns to apps to outpace fraud

Ghana's dominant mobile money operator is pressing the country's fintech industry to accelerate its shift from text-based USSD services to smartphone apps, arguing that the change is essential both to improve customer experience and to blunt a wave of increasingly sophisticated fraud. Shaibu Haruna, chief executive of MobileMoney (MoMo) Fintech Limited, told a gathering of industry executives including members of the Journalists for Business Advocacy (JBA) at the Fintech Partners Exchange Dialogue in Accra that payments infrastructure remained lopsided: about seven in ten customers now own smartphones, yet barely 1.2 per cent of transactions run through mobile apps, with the vast majority still processed via USSD, the menu-driven text protocol that has underpinned mobile money since its launch in Ghana more than a decade ago. The disparity, he suggested, is no longer simply a matter of consumer habit. It has become a structural vulnerability. As mobile money has grown into th...

BoG directs banks to cut bad loans to 10% by end of 2026

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, has directed all regulated financial institutions to reduce their non-performing loans (NPLs) to not more than 10 percent by the end of December 2026, warning that high levels of bad loans continue to constrain lending and weigh on Ghana's economic development. According to the Governor, although the banking sector has made significant progress in cleaning up its balance sheets, more work is needed to strengthen credit quality and create room for increased lending to businesses. Speaking at the Chartered Institute Of Restructuring and Insolvency Practitioners (CIRIP) Ghana–Bank of Ghana Forum in Accra, Dr. Asiama disclosed that the industry's NPL ratio had declined to 16.1 percent at the end of June 2026, down from over 23 percent during the same period last year, while the sector's Capital Adequacy Ratio stood at 20.4 percent. He said the improved capital position gives banks greater capacity to take car...

MTN records pre-tax profit of GH¢7.4bn in half-year 2026

Telecom giant, MTN Ghana, recorded a profit before tax of GH¢7.4 billion in the first-half of 2026. This represents 44.5% growth over the GH¢5.1 billion posted in first half of 2025. Service revenue also reached GH¢14.9 billion from GH¢11.3 billion recorded last year, representing a 32.3 % growth. The numbers were captured in MTN’s half-year financial performance released to the investing public on July 31, 2026. Drivers of Growth and S terling F inancial P erformance According to MTN Ghana, the 32.3% growth in service revenue was driven by strong execution across its connectivity and fintech businesses. This was due to sustained demand for data services and further reinforcing the diversification and resilience of its revenue base. This growth, according to MTN, was also supported by disciplined investment in network expansion, platform modernisation and customer experience initiatives. Another line of operations that contributed significantly to i...

Building cost inflation rises to 3.1% – Material prices drive construction costs

The Government Statistician, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, has said building cost inflation rose to 3.1 per cent in June 2026 as higher material and plant costs pushed up construction expenses, although the pace of increases remained significantly lower than levels recorded a year earlier. The latest Prime Building Cost Index (PBCI) released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) showed that annual building cost inflation increased from 2.7 per cent in May to 3.1 per cent in June. However, construction costs eased during the month, with the month-on-month inflation rate declining by 0.1 per cent in June from 1.4 per cent in May. The PBCI measures changes in the cost of key construction inputs, including materials, labour and plant, using 2023 as the base year. The index is used by developers, contractors, investors and policymakers to monitor cost movements and guide contract pricing and investment decisions. Cost pressures The June rate represented a major slowdown from the ...

MoMo loan defaulters can’t escape – MTN Ghana

Dickson Amoung-Yam, MTN Ghana’s Field Service Manager (Network) in Kumasi, has urged customers of the Mobile Money (MOMO) to repay the loans they borrow from their accounts. He stated that “Borrowers who take loans and refuse to pay can no longer escape because of the Ghana Card they used to register on their accounts.” Mr Amoung-Yam gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of a media and stakeholders’ engagement organised by the MTN Ghana in Sunyani. He expressed worry that: “previously, some people used their SIM cards to access loans and later disposed them off for new ones to avoid repayment,” warning that if such persons tried to register another SIM card, they would be detected because their details are already in the service system”. Amoung-Yaw encouraged all those who had borrowed money from the MOMO services to pay back on time so that other individuals could also benefit. He reiterated that ...