Necessary Sacrifice or Costly Mistake? Analysing BoG’s GHS15 Billion Loss | Beyond The Numbers

Añadido: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]Good afternoon to you and of course it's another trading day coming to you live from our studios here in Kokra. This is Joy News and you're welcome to Ghana's leading [music] business analysis show beyond the numbers.

[00:00:12]>> Of course this is the only show dedicated to market development bringing you updates on deals and key headlines shaping your business and week. Well, Winston, today BOG lost uh records 15 billion losses, which has been the talk of town through the weekend [music] till now and Minority also did their own breakdown and said there's some figures that they think that are not aligning, but we're going beyond the numbers. What are we looking at on big analysis?

[00:00:39][music] >> We'll be speaking with um Bernard Otto, the director of communications at the Bank of Ghana, as well as Dr. Rich Munich, who is a banking consultant.

[00:00:47]We're going to delve deeper and [music] diagnose the numbers looking at how the gold sales has pushed the outlook of our total performance especially [music] how the central bank has been able to manage their financials in 2025. [music] It's been key conversation from the minority to various stakeholders to various economists giving [music] the opinion.

[00:01:08]But we also want to make sure that the conversation is as objective as possible here on beyond the numbers. And let's start with the bank of Ghana as join research reveals the central bank avoids a far deeper loss thanks to the sale of [music] gold purchased between 2023 and 2024. Without this intervention, the Bank of Ghana would have closed [music] 2025 with a loss of nearly 33.2 billion Ghana cities, more than double the 15.63 billion Ghana cities it is reported [music] driven largely by gains from it domestic gold purchase program. Well, meanwhile, the Ghana Gold Board intensifies efforts to formalize the gold sector with its 2025 audited report showing that its dedicated anti-muggling task force is significantly curbing [music] illegal trade. Now this is pushing more artisal and small-scale mining exports into formal channels and boosting foreign exchange inflows with the country now recording about 20 billion US in gold exports in 2025 up sharply from [music] $10.3 billion US in 2024.

[00:02:16]>> Now in the corporate space Kasa Praco PLC posted strong performance with profit rising by 55% in the first quarter of 2026. This is driven by lower borrowing cost and steady demand as revenue climbs to 853.2 billion million Ghana cities from 821.9 million Ghana cities a year earlier.

[00:02:42]>> Well, on domestic debt markets, the government missed its Treasury bills target for the seventh consecutive [music] week as investors continue to demand higher yields. Latest auction results from the Bank of Ghana show a roughly 10% under subscription with investors taking up just over 4.48 billion Ghana cities against a target of 4.89 billion Ghana cities.

[00:03:05]>> Now to the international market. Samsung Electronics, the world's leading TV manufacturer, has replaced his head of television operations for the first time in more than two years in a move seen as part of effort to respond to growing competition from Chinese brands at home and abroad. According to the official, the new leader is expected to bring a fresh perspective and change the needed what is needed for the TV business which is facing intensifying market competitions. Well, still on the international markets, but this time around, let's take a look at the energy sector. Because amid the stalled crude oil deliveries and supply disruptions in the Middle East, oil giants Exon Mobile and Chevron have recorded drops in profit in the first quarter of 2026 despite surging oil prices. Now, Exxon's quarterly earnings fell to $4.2 2 billion from about $7.7 billion the same year, the same quarter last year. Uh a decline of about 40 46% while Chevron's profits fell to $2.2 billion from about 3.5 billion down about 37%.

[00:04:13]>> Now, Access Holdings PC has reported a profit before tax of 1.01 01 trillion naira for the 2025 financial year, marking the first time the group has crossed the 1 trillion naira mark threshold and signaling a strategic uh shift from skilldriven expansion to value focused growth.

[00:04:35]>> Well, before we go, let's take you to the macroeconomic front as analysts are warning that Ghana's inflation outlook while currently aligned with policy targets remains exposed to global shocks particularly rising fuel prices.

[00:04:49]Although the 2026 budget is projecting endear inflation at around 8% within the Bank of Ghana's targets banned sustained external pressures are threatening to shift the uh that trajectory.

[00:05:01]>> Now we've seen the figures we have analyzed the data at 15.63 billion Ghana cities was recorded over 2025 by the central bank of Ghana. What actually went into this? We break this down on big analysis. Stay with us here on Beyond the Numbers. We'll be right back. Keep watching.

[00:05:24]Welcome back to Beyond the Numbers. This is the big analysis here where we delve deeper doing all the necessary diagnosis on key economic issues. And this time around, what is on the top index or table is the Bank of Ghana's financials for 2025. There's been several conversation analysis by various stakeholders in the economy making sure that whether these losses were reasonable depending on the decisions that were made by the bank of Ghana. But one thing what is quite common in all those analysis is that the central bank has been able to get its inflation target above uh target and he's been able to get the policy rate assessed.

[00:06:02]He's been able to get all the key fundamentals in check but the cost is what many are questioning and this is why we bringing you this analysis here on beyond the numbers and we'll be speaking with uh Mr. Bernard Otable the communication director of the bank of Ghana as well as Dr. Rich Mahar who is joining us on Zoom right about now and also with me in studio is my colleague Caleb Zim who is going to take us through the numbers uh for us to appreciate the whole outlook of the central bank you've written extensively since the report came out now from your first assessment what did you deduce by going through those numbers >> um yes Winston so like you said the bank of Ghana released their financials last week Friday for the entire year know there's been some specul calculations before the report came out as to what what's going to be inside the report.

[00:06:54]And then if you really um study the central bank's activities for last year, you realize that they did incur some significant costs. So coming into the release of the financials for the central bank, we knew that they were going to take some heavy costs and then we're just waiting for the financials to see how the cost were going to be presented. And you can see we did a trend from 2008, that's when the currency was changed a bit. from 2008 to the latest report and then 2025 the loss was 15 billion Ghana cities and that's the second highest loss we've seen since 2008 the highest was obviously during the crisis era in 2022 where the central bank had to take some of the or absolve some of the shocks that Ghana was going through and it took some impairment losses and also some of the government debt uh to prevent it from spilling over into the economy so in 2022 the central bank did um an unprecedented at the time of 60.8 8 billion Ghana CDs in losses.

[00:07:47]Then the losses improved to 13.1 in 2023. Then to 9.3 in 2024 and then in 2025 that reversal switched where within the past 3 years over the past 2 years the losses were reducing but then the loss increased in 2025 to now 15.6 billion Ghana cities. Now the main u issue is that or the main uh factor driving the loss in 2025 was because the bank was very aggressive in this uh open market operations and to an extent the partnership the bank had with the Ghana gold board and also because the city appreciated by about 41 or 40% some of the assets that the bank held in dollar terms when you convert to cities it also reduces the balance or the income of the bank. So these are the three main factors that contributed to the loss of the central bank in 2025.

[00:08:34]>> We'll get extensively into this but I want us to stay on the 60.8 billion loss which I would like to bring in u Mr. on this conversation. It's good to have you here with us on beyond the numbers and also we appreciate the extent of openness from the central bank's perspective in dealing with issues of this nature. First of all, uh before we 2022, uh how would you describe the central bank's role in ensuring uh stability and ensuring prudence and ensuring that their various mandates adhere to >> right thank you very much um kebab the Winston right >> yes >> the role of the central bank is backed by law if you go to section three of the bank of Ghana act 2002 access one2 as amended It states clearly what the central bank must be engaged in which is what maintaining stability in the general level of prices right and that is a very narrow mandate that is given to the central bank. Of course this is also subordinated by you know other objectives um such as maintaining um financial stability maintaining payment systems you know stability as well because the payment system is a very important you know channel in our monetary policy transmission of course.

[00:09:50]So that is something also got to make sure that it is not impaired otherwise the transmission process all gets you know impaired and then you don't get the desired benefit. So that has been the mandate of the central bank and that will continue to be the mandate of the central bank. But I like where you started from looking at before 2022. It brings in a very very important issue that we really have to look at. Now the debt exchange program that actually happened um the bank had to take a very heavy hit both on our marketable and non-marketable securities about 48 billion was actually taken off the books of the central bank. Now if you look at this as interestbearing security what it then means is that we would be receiving some income from these securities which have now been you know uh has suffered some form of what haircut in that process to put it in the language we all understand. What does that translate into? That means that following the um the um domestic debt exchange program, the bank actually loses on the average about 13 billion in revenue that we should have been receiving if the debt exchange program had not taken place because the ones that we had had also had to be booked at the new rate at the reissued rate. So the revenue situation I mean started from there in terms of the loss of revenue you know that we could have had that we don't have. So that is where you should you should actually be looking at but that mandate has always been to maintain stability in the drone level of prices and why is that important in the first place? Why would the central bank be giving such a mandate? Because inflation controlling inflation is key right? It is key because it is a precondition for maintaining economic development of maintaining sustainable economic growth in the long term. This now feeds right feeds into our you and I our living standards and improves what we do.

[00:11:51]What else do you have to know about it?

[00:11:53]If you have a stable low and stable inflation and within a managed floating exchange rate regime that we have in this country ultimately it's impact on the exchange rate but then also impact on everything else that we do. How does that happen? If the exchange rate is is stable, not only stable, if it has some level of appreciation against the US dollar for example and as an import dependent largely, you know, economy, what would that do to the real sector of the economy? You and I, the bread and butter issues, it affects your fuel cost because it feeds back into the price of fuel at the pumps, right? If always your currency is depreciating, it affects everything else that you do including your electricity payment because all of that also have to be powered by the imported you know fuel that has to it has so much ramifications. Transport cost goes up. Um farm gate prices might remain the same but the cutting of food from those uh farms to the various centers market centers would also go up.

[00:13:00]So food inflation would be impacted.

[00:13:03]When food inflation goes up, the real incomes of people will reduce because whereas if your wage or your income is not inflation linked index to the rate of inflation, what then happens is that at every movement in inflation, you suffer the consequences. So what went in deciding that this year 2025 uh we are going to aggressively ensure inflation pulls to single digit because we've seen over the years the challenge in even getting to single digit to the tune of we seeing inflation far above 54% some time back and uh that decision and the cost element uh taken into fact you mentioned the loss position which I want to understand uh before even we get to the inflation question I want to understand there's this narrative that as a central bank you are not supposed to be in a position to even say you are making losses as against making revenue and which I would like to get your address on that >> yes good good one there let me take the first one because um your question on what make you made that decision that we are going to go in aggressively in 2025 to control inflation >> the decision to control inflation is not made in a boardroom, right? Nobody sits in a boardroom and decides that this is what we are going to do on inflation. There is a dedicated committee that will look at where the monetary policy rate which is a tool that we use to influence short-term interest rates should be in order to influence inflation. Right? So that plays on the inflation dynamics. That monetary policy committee is seven member committee is made up of very credible people. Right? The head of research is there. The head of treasury is there. The three governors are there.

[00:14:50]And two external members with knowledge in finance and economics are also there.

[00:14:55]When they sit in that room and it's important that I make it clear, they don't just sit down and say inflation is here and therefore let's put the monetary policy rate here. They will start by looking at global development, global growth development, global inflation development and anything within the global context because we don't need in a vacuum. We are affected by all global conditions. Then they will come back. they will come back to the domestic economy. In the domestic economy, how are these geopolitical issues, trade tensions and inflation within the global economy going to influence or impact on the domestic economy? Then they would also target or look at so many other variables including development in the banking sector, right? Including the business confidence surveys that are done and all other factors that would go before the decision is made. So that is actually the framework for an inflation targeting central bank and that is what we actually do right. So I hope I' I've explained that so that you get it clear that it's not a decision made in a boardroom somewhere that people say we are going to go aggressively on that.

[00:15:57]Now what happened in 20 2025 I believe is something that a story that must be well told.

[00:16:03]Now in 2025 as you can see at the financial show there was a very impressive you know um posture in terms of the control of inflation. Look at 2023 at the end of December 2023 inflation right was at 23.2%.

[00:16:24]At the end of December 2024 inflation was at 23.8%.

[00:16:29]Between 2023 and 2024, inflation was sticky around 23%.

[00:16:34]>> That we know. What did you do to get point good? Well, what we did is the cost you see.

[00:16:40]>> What you did is the cost you see.

[00:16:44]>> The end result justifies the means.

[00:16:46]>> The end results justify the means. Not because of what you are saying, but because of what the numbers say.

[00:16:52]>> I have not said anything. I'm just asking.

[00:16:54]>> Yes. The end result justify the means.

[00:16:57]Absolutely. Because inflation now at the last check is 3.2%. At the end of December to 5.4%. Having moved from 23.8% to 5.4%. That is such you know um a 77% drop in inflation. And that is quite you know huge and that is something that wouldn't come cheap. When you go into the market to mop up excess liquidity from the market there must be some compensatory payments to those who are taking the money from. So those commercial banks that buy the bulk bills which are short-term instrument that we issue to them must be compensated and that's the interest we pay which is you know on around the monetary policy rate.

[00:17:35]So if you have a monetary policy rate which is quite high now it's about 14%.

[00:17:39]It's not about now it's 14%. But if you're looking at where we have come from and you are mopping up at that very high interest rate definitely to impact on your balance sheet. But the point is that what is the trade-off? A central bank cannot sit aloof and allow inflation to go haywire.

[00:17:58]That is not a central bank worth assault. Right? That is that was central banking of my youth and that is central banking today.

[00:18:05]>> Okay.

[00:18:06]>> That is central banks have inflation targeting framework as what they do. I mean they have no inflation monate targeting whatever but they always would have to control inflation.

[00:18:16]>> Okay. I'll come back to you shortly. We have uh with us Dr. Chahene who is also joining us on zoom right now. I want to go straight to him. Uh Dr. Chen, it's good to have you with us. Uh first opinion, what is your assessment of the central bank's loss that has been reported in the 2025 financials.

[00:18:36]>> Thank you very much and good afternoon and good afternoon to Bernard. I think it's a necessary evil. I call it necessary evil. Inflation is an evil and if you want to fight it, you need to do everything humanly possible. And this is exactly what happened. But before I continue with that, the real issue which I stated earlier in 2022 and the 2023 and I want to be quoted everywhere immediately the DD happened, I said the central banks were going to be in trouble. The reason being is that if you're losing 13 billion averely on your income, no matter what you do, you're not going to break even.

[00:19:22]But you see in this country, let me make it clear and categorical. We tend to forget too early. We tend to forget too early. When the DD came, I stood in wrote a lot of papers saying that central bank and the the banks were not good. The bank suffered a little bit but the central bank suffered hugely and because of that the conducting the OMO repo even even other other mechanism used was not going to be easy. So for me the lawsuits as I sit here I have talked about it earlier. So it is not a new thing to me because to go and operate the aggressive to bring inflation to the the realms the way it is you need to use the OMO and Bank of Ghana used I think 14 days 28 56 90 they were aggressively trying to target inflation because inflation is an animal in the system.

[00:20:23]>> Would you say that particular approach worked based on your assessment?

[00:20:27]For me if your mandate is to rate price stability you have to do that because you see we have lived inflations from 54%.

[00:20:37]We dropped to 20 23.2 and then went up to it means it was becoming a cancer which needed to be fought aggressively and that was exactly what they did. So for me there is no free lunch. When I hear this people talking about those of us who have written earlier it is a normal thing.

[00:20:59]>> Would there have been a better option especially the kind of tool the central bank used in dealing with this particular inflation targeting approach.

[00:21:09]>> The tools uh that we use the money OMO which is a clear tool. We use as cash reserves and then we use what we call repo repurchasing.

[00:21:18]If at that time they have already used the cash reserves and it was not functioning very well. So they look at it and look at the other options and say look at least for OMU we can go in as the policy rate with a policy rate and we'll be able to bring it down and let us say it I'll say it without fear of favor I think we tend to forget too early and whole nation 2022 I said it on joy platform that is not going to be for bank of Ghana the next years ahead but people were just singing the chorus because Dr. T doesn't know what he's talking about. I've done a research and I've studied other jurisdiction and I knew what was going to happen. So when I saw the laws and the aggressive nature of controlling inflation, I thought it was the step right in direction. And again when Dr. Mr. was talking there was something he also left out. Once upon a time once upon a time we go to the Euro bond and borrowed and ces as currency reserve. Let me tell you, we used to go to Euro bond and borrow money at a cost and come and put it in bank of Ghana as a reserve. Now we have switched the gold. We speak the gold post. Let us look at the gold although it's very expensive or we made a little losses. If you see the benefit of the gold that has been accumulated and compare to the time we were borrowing to show it the currency you would have no business talking about even the 9 million 9 billion that is lost because we have made enormous savings I mean look we have reserves I mean once upon a time we didn't have these reserves and we haven't had it for I think all my own years in the whole world in the whole living in this country to have a reserve of 14.5 billion five mines import it has never happened in the history you can go back because I've worked with bank of Ghana since 208 I think 206 when we're doing the foreign exchange so for me we should use look at the positives and talk about the positives and also and dwell very little on the negatives so that we can restrategize way forward to help us to let the central bank find >> in talking about the positive there's a need to be quite aware about the negative as well uh what are the risks involved especially now that uh we've seen the outlook of how the central bank use gold uh in ensuring that the reserve outlook looks quite okay but I want to understand from you an instance where but for let's just assume there was no gold domestic gold program would this approach be quite credible for the central bank considering its uh risks the risks involved >> the gold project was not started yesterday it was started on 2021 by Dr. Addison June go and read.

[00:24:12]After going around we realized that Koko could not take us for anywhere.

[00:24:17]So they decided let us look at the gold being smuggled all over the place. So PMMC started doing something. But when the new government came he started to shape things and I'm saying that if we don't move forward and begin to think what we are what we have done and complain about the the negatives we will not go forward. Now let me make it clear here. Countries are being told to copy Ghana. The IMF is telling other jurisdiction to see how best they can go into the golden hedge. So I agree the losses have come. We made losses on the sales. But to me compared to the reserves accumulated and the inflation down and let me repeat borrowing once upon a time we borrow to we borrow to shore the reserves. Now we are not borrowing. We are strategizing using gold to hedge our reserves. Other countries you can check all other countries. Even the UK's the Americans they all have gold. They buy gold.

[00:25:16]Russia they all buy gold because they think it's an commodity that is able to stand very well against inflation. All right.

[00:25:24]>> So for me for me I don't have any problem but all that I'm trying to say Bank of Ghana must be aggressive to talk about the past. The past you see people tend to forget the past. you mentioned the 202 I'll come back to you shortly but I want our viewers to appreciate some few dynamics from the financials uh briefly if I'm to deal from both uh responses from Dr. Chenn and also Mr. auto it simply telling me that the 2025 financials especially in the more operation uh seems to like an investment in stability that we they uh we can see from the currency and also from the inflation aspect but we'll deduce shortly on that but I want to come back to Kellb you know KB you are looking at the policy solveny position of the central bank take us through that one >> yes so the central bank um the main measure of the central bank is whether it is policy of it. This means the core income of the bank versus monetary to without the open market operation. If the core income can meet uh the open market operations, then the bank is policy solvent.

[00:26:27]>> In 2025, we saw that the bank was policy solvent by about 5.5 billion Ghana cities. But it is important to point out that about 9.5 billion of the income came from the sale of the gold. Now again the arguments has been that without the sale of this gold the gold reserves about 50 51% of the gold in our reserves the bank would not have been policy solvent because if you take that out the core income of the bank would have been somewhere about 12 billion Ghana cities versus the cost of about 16.7 billion so there would have been a deficit so understanding these dynamics and then also the time that the gold was sold or sold about um late since to 2025 means that if the bank did not sell the gold it would have in policy insolvent.

[00:27:09]So the gold even though the primary objective was to rebalance the foreign exchange portfolio because about 40% of the bank's uh foreign exchange or foreign reserves were in gold. If the price of gold falls any moment the bank is going to be very exposed and the value of a res is also going to come down and investors might get worried. So the bank had to rebalance the portfolio.

[00:27:29]But the side benefits of that was that the bank also had some extra income to support it books to show that they were policy solvents. But then the next question is moving forward uh if the bank maintain this sort of aggressive open market operations the bank's uh policy solveny might be at risk again which is what I want to get from Mr. moving forward because of the way the bank's income versus the monial policy tools were in 2025. If the bank is going to maintain this aggressive, you know, uh intervention within the open markets operations, will the bank be able to move forward with uh the same line of trajectory, right? Yes. Um let me just address one, you know, fundamental issue that has kept coming up. I've seen that you've you've reworked the whole accounting position by way of bringing back the um profit made on the sale of gold um back into your statement and taking it out over the overall position and then coming up what what you describe policy insolveny.

[00:28:34]Now one fundamental thing that needs to be established is that there was nothing illegal towards the sale of the gold one. The other part also you got to look at is that in central bank reserve management there are specific things that are being considered. You look at the safety, you look at the liquidity and the returns that comes with it. So in looking at this you have to be very careful to make sure that there is nothing like concentration risk. Now this is the point where your gold right the value of your gold holdings as part of your reser position was upwards above 40%.

[00:29:17]What does it say in terms of you know portfolio management of a central bank you are looking at bringing it down to 20% or below. So that concentration risk was there. So that is what the decision that was made in order to make sure that the portfolio is rebalanced in that particular context and that's exactly what the central bank did. You talking about the sale of gold.

[00:29:42]One thing that we fail to also recognize that there are always two leg when it comes to accounting.

[00:29:49]We sold the gold. What did we receive?

[00:29:54]We receive FX in return that FX is still part of our reserve and it is earning interest. Yes, >> in that regard. So that FX is still earning interest. So the gold has just been reclassified into another form of asset because we may hold in foreign currency, we may hold in other instruments and we may hold in commodity like gold like what actually you know happened. Now the the last part of your question is whether we are going to go in and pump money. Look, you can't solve economic problems with neat equations because economies are not deterministic. We can. However, given the point where we are now, if it should continue the way it is in terms of the strong macro fundamentals that we have, all the indicators point to the fact that going forward, for instance, NPR is 14%.

[00:30:54]So even if you are mopping in the market, you are not going to mop at the same rate as you used to do in the past.

[00:31:00]Right? The dynamics are clear. Inflation now is under is stable and under control. You don't need to go you need to make sure that inflation does not move about our medium-term target which is six >> which is eight plus.

[00:31:15]>> All right. Uh we are joined by my colleague Kufi AJ who is currently with us right now. Uh I'm sure uh we've been listening to this conversation wherever you are on our social media handles. Dr. Ch is also live on Zoom.

[00:31:27]It's good to have you with us as well and I'm sure um you've listened and you obsessed and we've both both been going through the numbers. It's interesting dynamics there.

[00:31:38]>> Yeah. I think this is this is one of the conversations where you always have to find a balance, right?

[00:31:42]>> Yeah.

[00:31:43]>> You can't go on the either side of the extreme whether the right side or the left side you need to be in the middle to analyze the situation. Well, um, and sometimes maybe because of how we've communicated certain things in the past, it makes breaking down reasons why we are here difficult, right? Because as a central bank, I don't think that if we are done things right in terms of how we communicate some of the reports about central banks, we should even be here justifying why this is so because um, I simply do not see anything wrong. uh with paying a cost for stabilization.

[00:32:23]But maybe because of how it was communicated and how people criticize it in 2022, 2023 and 2024, it has made it difficult to possibly defend why it should be so in 2025. Let's try and understand if you want to fight inflation and yesterday I was on Saturday those of you who listen to news file a lot was said on why we at where we are. If you look at the economic crisis of 2022 that brought us to 2023 and the difficulties we had in 2024, nobody should tell you that it is going to take more than half a decade or sometimes even a decade to recover from what we we suffered in 2022 at a point where we needed somebody to take the bullets for us to get the um you know the $3 billion package from the IMF. Yeah, >> we did haircuts, right? People fought fought against it at a point we we had to make a decision that we're not even going to put haircuts on pension funds.

[00:33:26]It was a central bank that came in to say that well we know we are in a difficult situation >> took about 40 billion in in haircut right off right that in itself is a big loss sitting on the books of the central bank and it's also an economic cost that the central bank paid >> in 2025 did a similar one in 2023 I mean 2022 2023 and 2024 so at the moment where the losses have reached 15 I think 6 billion uh the conversation is actually still the same >> you know it's interesting let me let me get a brief assessment from Dr. China who is currently with us on June doc uh you you've heard the assessment one thing that is quite common is the gold narrative that is the key lining through would you now say as in the the gold board has indicated that uh this year they are going to be operating on their own books instead of the books of the central bank will their operation somehow be implicated considering the fact that they said they've reported some huge amount of profits one will say you can only declare profit when you're working against um a previous year. So what is your basis for that assessment?

[00:34:37]However, we are still looking at the fact that uh going forward will it position the central bank in terms of collaboration ensuring that our reserves outlook in terms of the central bank's position in in running the Ghana accelerated uh national reserve accumulation program.

[00:34:58]uh you know gold board has just have to buy the gold and then somebody had to get it right we get it to our assets in bank of Ghana >> make it brief because we don't have much time dog >> yeah I believe that that strategy is good and we must pursue it because we cannot go on international market and borrow and come and hedge the currency let us use the best that we have and minimize the cost and it is to me it is the best way forward to support the reserves and the stability of the country the city.

[00:35:31]>> All right. Uh will you also Dr. Mr. forgive me. H would you say that the Ghana accelerated national reserve accolate program is kind of a rebranding of the domestic good program?

[00:35:44]>> Well, this is a policy.

[00:35:45]>> Oh, is is there a difference in a way?

[00:35:47]>> There's a difference. I mean, the gun wrap has come to make the sector better, right? It is backed by law and the gun wrap is is has its own specific target in terms of accumulating 50 months of what? Um import cover over from now to 2028. um 2028, right? That's what the gun wrap really does. It's really going to improve on the existing domestic gold purchase program and actually giving it a structure and it is backed by law and to ensure that the reserve um as the country's reserve accumulation program progresses, it is actually managed in a more um under estary arrangement. So that's what the gun wrap really is and it's come to improve what we're already doing in terms of our gold resources and how we use it to build a reserve for the country.

[00:36:32]>> In terms of the value chain cost elements which the uh good the bank of Ghana has taken on uh we've seen that on the books of the financial and financials of the bank of Ghana. How is that going to be dealt with in subsequent account?

[00:36:47]>> I think even before the account was released the governor was very straight on how the burden sharing aspect would have to be handled. Um all the narrative will tell you how important the gold accumulation program has helped this country reserve level that we have 5.7 months of import cover is huge. We've never experienced this before in the past. Now in order to do this certain costs had to be incurred. You have assaying fees, you have offtakers um discounts, you have other commissions that you have to pay within the whole value chain and the bank of Ghana was bearing the brunt of most of all these fees. That is not going to be the case going forward and that is something that the governor has always emphasized that the whole system has had to go through some form of recalibration and to make sure that we don't have to the bank alone taking up this this is an economic cost. If you build reserves you build reserve for the nation and that economic cost should not be something that the bank bears alone. So then the burden sharing as he keeps emphasizing is the point where everybody must be on board in this case the government also coming in and taking part of this.

[00:37:53]>> Now talking about burden sharing we've heard that phrase before >> before the DDP that we are sharing burden but it got to a point where individuals even had to even carry their own burden as against the fact that its implication become is what the consequences what we are facing now. Now you're talking about bedding sharing. We we know about the uh instances of monetary and fiscal looking quite uneasy sometime going back. You've signed an MOU with government in January somewhere. What is the position of the MOU? Is the uh the finance finance ministry in line with your objective as a central bank in instances where the IMF will be out of the picture come August? Well, I mean you you stated a very um um important um situation not just for Bank of Ghana, but it is something that most countries face. You would have a situation whereby the fiscal and the monetary are not in sync, right? So then you have something like fiscal dominance and in when such a thing happens for example your central bank goes in there to be doing the mopping and then the fiscal is always on the overdrive and therefore it's like having a a running tap on and mopping that is not the case. If you look at our narrative in terms of what has happened in the economy in 20 or happened in 2025 till now, you see that physical monetary coordination, policy coordination is what has given us the benefit that we enjoying now. And with physical and monetary must agree if there's no policy coordination between the two, then there's likely going to be a problem.

[00:39:26]The assurance is there and the governor the finance minister at every opportunity they've had to speak to the post IMF effect they've given all the asurances that the the what they put in place will be sustainable or give that that sustenance that we need going post IMF look at the primary balance look at all the I don't need to go technical again as you know you've look at what is really happening physical monetary fantastic relationship and that coordination is also what is contributing to the um benefit that we enjoying today.

[00:40:00]>> I've had a privilege of sitting through all some government years and I still feel the vu especially about this statement and let's hope that that particular reflection we beyond the numbers will keep assessing let me get has a question for you Mr. So I think moving forward the main concern is about confidence within the sector now with a negative equity of about 93 billion can the central bank you know absorb any shock that is to come in the near future especially now that as coincidence say we are leaving the IMF program so I think maybe twofold here is the central bank's books are strong enough to absorb shocks moving forward and again back to the recapitalization question have there been any steps taken to ensure that the central government is supporting the uh central bank with some with with his books and aligning the the books and order.

[00:40:49]>> In a minute, please.

[00:40:50]>> Sure.

[00:40:51]>> Right. The relationship as I said between the fiscal and the monetary is is quite obvious is is solid. Um the whole agreement is for recapitalization from 2026 to 2032. Even before that the ministry of finance has already taken steps, you know, to show that look, we can even do some front loing even before the time that has been given to us. So that has been established. Now the policy solveny issue as you rarely define should give you that comfort and then also one thing that has not been looked at by so many of the country that we have nobody is looking at the cash flow. Look at the cash flow statement in the financials and it will tell you because as I always keep saying cash is fact profit is an oper because the profit may contain some accounting valuations and so on and so forth. The cash is what tells you what is available to spend and what you can you cannot really do. If you look at the cash flow statement is solid enough to tell you that we are liquid enough going forward to carry on with our operations and there is nothing and let me put it clearly that what we discussing is an audited account. It's an audited account and the audit account has not been qualified. It has a clean bill of health which should tell you that the external people that looked at account had no reason to believe that a significant part of our operations will be curtailed in the foreseeable future. That is the going concern concept in accounting. So we are completely out of the woods. We are clear in terms of managing our operations and given all that I've stated earlier. Trust me going forward we should be coming back with better results.

[00:42:25]>> Let me let me follow up on the accounting principle.

[00:42:29]>> Um there was a change in the >> the auditors for the first time in about I think 6 years or so you changed >> auditors. Was there any reason why you had to change move from a different auditor to one?

[00:42:42]>> It's um it's it's a international best practice that you don't have to have an auditor for more than 5 years and so on.

[00:42:48]>> It's there and the literature is there to support it. You know when it happens to Enron, Tao, Perigine and all these global you know situations [clears throat] you know what happened to Ala Anderson right Anderson which was part of the big five lost it its license because it was actually earned more from management fees than from the audit fees. Oh great.

[00:43:05]So then it turns out that >> let me get a final opinion from Dr. Chin as well before we go Dr. in in less than 1 minute. Uh what is your final say? You've heard uh the various opinions and also the assessment. Before we go, >> well before I get my final opinion, I mean auditors are supposed to be their regulatory requirement. You are not supposed more than 3 years. So taking them off is not a new thing in banking or in finance. The time they've served 6 years. It was even more than necessary.

[00:43:36]They've been there. So changing them is not a holy balloo. is a real issue. But going forward now that we have aggressive monetary policy in place the cost is very high at least inflation is even below their bank of Ghana own target 8 plus and minus two and I'm sure they are not going to continue with the aggressive aggressiveness so that they will make it a bit loosen so that private sector could also compete from for cash business to expand their business but apart from that for me it's kudos there is no free lunch and I want to say it those who are making noise go and read the literature in 2022 as I said it is not a new thing to us we saw it coming >> the losses will possibly continue and continue but not in that magnitude because they may not go the aggressive way of and repurchase so for me it is the step in the right direction and kudos >> uh to governor and the team work hard and let the country enjoy the best of it time please.

[00:44:46]>> Thank you Dr. Ch. I uh >> I mean my final comments would be we've paid a lot to actually be at where we are. So I think now the conversation should be about sustainability how do we sustain this momentum that we've been able to get from this huge cause that we had to put in place. Currently the the bank has gone through a lot taking taken the bullet in 2022 2023 and now also pay another huge cost for the stabilization we are seeing 2025. So this is a precious um you know gains that we've had which comes at a high cost. So we need to be able to to guard it well and make sure that we are talking more of sustainability possibly going into the future and not putting ourselves in a situation where we did in 2020 2023 where we had to do restructuring and the bank itself at a point and even now needs um you know recapitalization that's the final point >> before we go your final words >> I think the the entire sector is really about confidence I think the posture from the BG now is that they have enough shock absorbers to ensure that the country and the economy is not you whittleled away by any shock uh in the near future. [snorts] >> Great. So you've heard various assessment here on beyond the numbers with regards to the 2025 financials with the bank of Ghana. Uh the whole conversation has been uh if you could conclude or the news is that the 2025 financials is an investment into stability. So all the various stability you're seeing especially from the forex uh from the inflation all of them is the key reasons why this losses have been attributed including the outflow the cash reserves the various good uh policy institutions and various decisions taken by the central bank. So this is just an assessment of the initial aspect. Expect more conversation here on join news.