BoG MPC Meeting: The banking sector has improved significantly - Dr Asiama| The Pulse (20-5-26)

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00][music] >> And happening now at the Bank of Ghana, let's take you straight to the Central Bank where the governor is expected to announce the new policy rate any moment from now as the bank concludes its 130th Monetary Policy Committee meeting amidst easing lending rates, inflation concerns, and growing expectations.

[00:00:22]Let's head there now.

[00:00:24]maritime and air traffic It has increased energy prices and heightened policy uncertainty.

[00:00:33]Against this backdrop, the IMF has revised down its 2026 global growth projection to 3.1% from an initial estimate of 3.3%.

[00:00:45]The IMF also noted that further downward revisions are likely if the conflict is prolonged.

[00:00:54]The disruption to trade flows following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has led to a sharp increase in international crude oil prices and reignited inflationary pressures in both advanced and emerging market economies.

[00:01:10]Early indicators suggest that global headline inflation is beginning to accelerate and this is fueled by higher energy and food prices and rising inflation expectations.

[00:01:23]The expected resurgence in inflation may prompt central banks to raise policy rates which could push long-term bond yields higher, tighten global financing conditions, and reverse portfolio flows to emerging market and developing economies.

[00:01:42]Domestically, economic activity strengthened in the first quarter of 2026.

[00:01:49]The composite index of economic activity or the CIA, which tracks the bank's high-frequency indicators of real sector activity.

[00:01:58]This expanded by 12.6% year-on-year in March 2026, and this was up from 2.3% in March 2025.

[00:02:10]The main drivers of the growth in the index were credit to the private sector, consumption, industrial production, and international trade activities.

[00:02:21]The latest surveys conducted in April 2026, however, indicated that both consumer and business confidence, though high, have softened compared with the February survey results.

[00:02:35]This was largely due to concerns about the domestic implications of the ongoing Middle East conflict.

[00:02:43]Similarly, Ghana's purchasing managers index declined to 50.3% in April 2026 from 51.4 in March 2026, mainly reflecting higher import costs input costs.

[00:03:00]Headline inflation inched up marginally to 3.4% in April 2026 from 3.2% in March, marking the first increase since December 2024.

[00:03:14]This uptick was driven by non-food inflation, which increased to 4.2% in April 2026 from 3.9% in the preceding month, and this was largely on account of base effects.

[00:03:29]Core inflation, which excludes energy and utility items, declined, indicating that underlying inflationary pressures continued to ease.

[00:03:40]However, inflation expectations among consumers, businesses, and the financial sector, these edged up marginally, but remained broadly anchored within the medium-term inflation target band.

[00:03:55]Growth in monetary aggregate moderated further in April 2026, and this too was largely reflecting the tight monetary policy stance.

[00:04:06]Reserve money growth slowed significantly to 3.6% in April 2026, compared to 38% growth a year earlier.

[00:04:16]Similarly, broad money supply expanded at a slower pace by 22.2% down from 26.7% over the same period.

[00:04:28]On the money market, interest rates on short-term instruments declined further, reflecting easing inflation expectations and the monetary policy stance.

[00:04:40]Yields on the benchmark 91-day Treasury bill fell to 4.9% in April 2026 from 15.5% a year earlier.

[00:04:51]Similarly, the Ghana reference rate eased to 10.06% in April 2026, compared to 23.99% a year earlier.

[00:05:02]Also, average bank lending rates declined to 16.3% from 27.4%.

[00:05:09]In line with this, private sector credit rebounded strongly in April, up by 28.7% in nominal terms, compared with a 19.9% growth in April 2025.

[00:05:24]In real terms, this represents a growth of 24.5% compared to a contraction of 1.1% over the same comparative period.

[00:05:35]Now, provisional data showed that fiscal performance for January to March 2026 reflected strong expenditure containment measures amid revenue shortfalls.

[00:05:48]On commitment basis, the fiscal balance recorded a surplus of 0.1% of GDP against the target deficit of 1.2%.

[00:05:58]The primary balance also recorded a surplus of 1.2% of GDP against a surplus target of 0.2% The public debt stock of central government and guaranteed debt these also rose to 674.1 billion Ghana cedis constituting 42.2% of GDP at end February 2026 from 641.1 billion Ghana cedis which constituted 44.7% of GDP at end December 2025.

[00:06:35]Now, the banking sector performance improved significantly.

[00:06:39]Total assets expanded by 26.6% year-on-year to 493.9 billion Ghana cedis in April 2026 supported by deposits, domestic borrowings, and shareholders' funds.

[00:06:56]Asset growth was largely driven by investments which rose sharply by 52.6% in April 2026 relative to 27.8% in the same period last year.

[00:07:10]Credit growth also rebounded as financial intermediation improved.

[00:07:15]The banking sector solvency position strengthened alongside improvements in asset quality.

[00:07:22]The capital adequacy ratio increased to 22.3% in April 2026 compared with 17.5% a year earlier.

[00:07:33]And the non-performing loan or MPL ratio also declined to 18% from 23.6% over the same comparative period. And this reflected a rebound in bank credits and reduction in the stock of MPLs.

[00:07:50]Nonetheless, elevated credit risk remains a key concern and requires banks strict adherence to the regulatory guidelines aimed at reducing non-performing loans in the industry.

[00:08:05]The external sector remained resilient despite the early impact of heightened geopolitical tensions.

[00:08:11]We temporarily slowed gold export shipments in March and April 2026.

[00:08:18]In the first quarter of 2026, the current account surplus improved to 3.1 billion US dollars from 2.43 billion dollars in the same period in 2025.

[00:08:31]This was primarily driven by robust gold and cocoa export earnings alongside stable remittance inflows despite the rise in payments for services and investment income.

[00:08:45]Gross international reserves increased to 14.4 billion as at May 18, 2026, equivalent to 5.7 months of import cover for goods and services up from 13.8 billion in December 2025.

[00:09:02]Reserve accumulation continued to provide buffers to the foreign exchange market.

[00:09:07]And in the interbank market, the CD depreciated by 8.4% against the US dollar in the year to May 15, 2026.

[00:09:17]And this was largely due to demand from the energy sector and dividend payments by some corporate entities.

[00:09:25]In taking the policy decision, the committee therefore acknowledged that ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have broadly broadly weakened the global growth outlook.

[00:09:38]It has stoked inflationary concerns and has also heightened policy uncertainty.

[00:09:44]With potential implications to the domestic economy through the trade and financial channels.

[00:09:50]The data showed that although inflation had started rising in advanced economies, the spillovers to the domestic economy through the trade channel remained muted.

[00:10:02]The committee also noted that the domestic economy continues to recover as evidenced by the strong outturn in the CIEA during the first quarter.

[00:10:13]Growth is projected to remain strong supported by an expansion in private sector credit.

[00:10:19]However, commodity price volatility and supply chain disruptions could pose downwards risk to growth.

[00:10:29]Regarding price dynamics, inflation remained well below the lower limit of the medium-term target band.

[00:10:36]Although headline inflation and expectations indicators picked up marginally, core inflation declined indicating continued easing of underlying inflationary pressures.

[00:10:49]The latest forecast suggested that inflation is expected to trend upward into the medium-term target band largely due to base drift effects related to exchange rate movements, food supply conditions, and transport fares.

[00:11:06]Upside risks to the inflation outlook included the product protracted Middle East crisis which could keep crude oil prices above $100 per barrel and raise the prospect of petroleum price pass-through into domestic transport and utility costs.

[00:11:26]The quarterly adjustment mechanism for utility tariffs could exert upward pressure on non-food inflation in the coming months.

[00:11:36]But, however, relative exchange rate stability, increasing reserve buffers, and continued fiscal discipline are expected to help moderate these upside risks.

[00:11:48]Based on the above considerations, the committee assessed risks in the outlook to inflation and growth as broadly balanced and decided decided to maintain the monetary policy rate at 14.0%.

[00:12:04]The committee will continue to monitor incoming data, in particular relating to potential spillover of the geopolitical tensions to the domestic economy, and take appropriate policy actions when necessary.

[00:12:19]The committee took yet another an additional measure.

[00:12:23]The committee decided to amend the dynamic cash reserve ratio to a uniform ratio of 20% maintained in the domestic currency effective June 4, 2026.

[00:12:38]The next monetary policy committee meeting is scheduled for July 20 to 22, 2026.

[00:12:45]And that meeting will also conclude on July 22nd, 2026 with the announcement of the policy decision. I thank you for your attention. Thank you very much, Governor Dr. Johnson Addae Asiamah.

[00:13:01]If you just joined us, this is the 113th MPC press briefing led by Governor Dr. Johnson Addae Asiamah. We are also live on Joy News Channel 1, GNA, Norman Report, and BNFT.

[00:13:14]Here with the Governor is also members of the Monetary Policy Committee. So, members of the media, as we always do, we'll take some rounds of questions.

[00:13:24]And for clarity, and also to ensure that the questions are well answered. Please give us one question at a time.

[00:13:33]And straight to the point, keep the narratives very, very short. Thank you.

[00:13:50]Good afternoon.

[00:13:53]Good evening. [clears throat] It's Tuma Kavi from Corporate Ghana Magazine.

[00:13:56]Um over the past fortnight or so, we've realized that um treasury bill issuances have resumed oversubscription.

[00:14:07]Uh Now, what's Right. So, that's the governor of the Bank of Ghana, Johnson Asiamah, there announcing a raft of measures that have been taken by the Central Bank. My name is Kenneth Ijesi. That's it for the poll also this evening, but that particular meeting continues after this. Enjoy.

[00:14:30]who invest in treasury bills.

[00:14:33]Well, unless there are other factors we don't know about which have now caused the reversal from um under subscription to over subscription over the past fortnight.

[00:14:47]Thank you.

[00:14:55]Um good afternoon. My name is Joshua Owusu Ansah Manu with the Business and Financial Times. So, Governor, um just for clarity, um uh What are the reasoning behind the the additional policy, the CRR, um and what would be the effect on the on the on inflation uh on inflation as well as on your operation regards to OMO?

[00:15:19]Thank you.

[00:15:25]>> Please, I'm Natalie [clears throat] Natty from Citi FM Channel 1 TV.

[00:15:28]Governor, please, um some economists um in recent times have argued that there's a wide gap between inflation and um the policy rate.

[00:15:38]And this gives the Bank of Ghana more room to ease the monetary policy rate.

[00:15:43]What's your position on it and what do you think I can do for that? Thank you.

[00:15:48]Right, so we'll take the last question for this one.

[00:15:51]Yes.

[00:15:52]James is Shane from Joy News. My question to do with the banking space, um average lending rates are falling, but it appears businesses still see credit remains expensive. So, the question now is why is monetary policy transmission still a bit weak?

[00:16:10]Why is monetary policy >> transmission a bit weak? A bit weak.

[00:16:16]Um can we get some more clarity? The statement he made before that. Right, James.

[00:16:22]Yeah. So, when you speak to business, I mean last the last time you we met, you made mention of the fact that banks are reaching out to um businesses, but it appears it is mostly for the private sector and also the public sector, but it seems that informal sector is not really feeling this the the the fall with respect to interest. Yes, they are not really feeling that. So, that is what I wanted to And also a quick one before I go, um the last time we met also, you made mention of the fact that there were some two struggling banks and um you were considering an extension with respect to those banks. Um I think one of them I need an update with respect to that.

[00:17:04]Okay, so I'll start with the very last one on the um I wouldn't call them struggling banks. They are banks that are recapitalizing.

[00:17:14]Um remember the deadline was for December 2025.

[00:17:19]Um but then this was extended to March and we have again extended it for the two of them till June 2025.

[00:17:28]So far we are comfortable with the progress they have made and we are confident that that by the end of June 2025 those two banks um 2026, those two banks would also be fully recapitalized.

[00:17:44]Then the still coming from the bottom um there was a question about weak transmission to lending rates. That was what you asked about.

[00:17:54]Well, when when the interest rates are falling um it may take a while. You know, remember the low interest regime we are having currently. It's quite new to the banks.

[00:18:07]Um it takes time for them to shift their portfolios, right? Um and so I can understand why you don't see the same speed of adjustment.

[00:18:17]Uh part of the feedback we got from some of the banks is that look, you don't just rush into giving out loans. Um there has to be bankable adequate bankable projects, right? You don't compromise your credit appraisal standards. And so eventually uh we will see you know, lending rates picking up um at close to the the same speed. Um once we engineer and we sustain the low interest environment and it is realistic, uh we'll see that full transmission.

[00:18:51]Then there was the third one. Uh I guess that was about the real interest rate, right? The real policy rate. You're saying it there's quite a gap still there which suggests um there's still room for easing.

[00:19:06]Um that is true.

[00:19:08]But remember the committee evaluated other forms of risks.

[00:19:13]Uh the elephant in the room here is the Middle East crisis.

[00:19:17]Up to this time, uh one is not sure whether it's a temporary crisis or whether it's going to be a long-lasting one.

[00:19:25]Uh if we assume that it would be a longer-lasting one, then you can imagine the impact on inflation expectations uh or the so-called second-round effects.

[00:19:36]And so, on the balance, the committee assessed the improvements in the fundamentals.

[00:19:42]Uh it looked at not just the domestic economy, but also the headwinds that are coming from some of these uh global shocks. And that is why in the wisdom of the committee, it was decided to pause and to evaluate all these incoming data.

[00:19:58]Uh so that at the next MPC round, the committee would evaluate the issues again and take another appropriate decision.

[00:20:07]Then Joshua, you were asking um the impact of OMO relating to the additional policy measure. So, you remember just about a year ago, we took a similar policy measure where we separated the provisioning for the two types of deposit accounts.

[00:20:27]Um down the road a year after, the committee evaluated some of the incentives, you know, some of the expected benefits for which those dynamic, you know, structure uh of provisioning was put [snorts] in place.

[00:20:43]Uh we think that it's about time we reviewed that uh considering the outcomes that we have we have observed.

[00:20:52]And in the wisdom of the committee, uh we think that this will go a long way to complement, you know, our open market operations. Remember, our objective is to maintain an appropriate, you know, policy stance, the so-called liquidity conditions. That's how we are able to impact on on on on our transmission. And so, in the wisdom of the committee, uh this additional measure uh was taken.

[00:21:18]>> [clears throat] >> Uh we have provided clear dates by which the policy takes effect. Um and also remember, we meet the CEOs of banks immediately after uh MPC. So, next week we'll be meeting all CEOs of banks.

[00:21:32]We'll take them through the policy.

[00:21:34]We'll take them through the implication.

[00:21:36]And and that should be good for the markets.

[00:21:40]Then, uh Toma.

[00:21:42]Uh Toma asked about why the Treasury bill uh over-subscription in the last couple of weeks. I thought you would ask the Finance Minister first.

[00:21:51]>> [laughter] >> You know, uh it's a market. It's an it's an auction.

[00:21:56]Um we don't just do allocations anyhow.

[00:21:59]Uh the banks, the treasuries of banks, they make those decisions uh based on, you know, market conditions and what they forecast, you know, um the market to be like going forward.

[00:22:12]And so, yes, uh over-subscriptions, um the minister knows what they are doing. Uh remember what we do. Our OMOs are separate from those table auctions.

[00:22:23]Um and so, that is all I can say about it. It is good government is able to meet its PSBR at the end of the day. And it is good if the rates are not escalating while by government does so.

[00:22:35]Uh but for further inquiry, you may want to um you know, send some questionnaires to the Finance Ministry. I'm sure they'll be able to provide answers.

[00:22:45]I that exhausts the first set of questions.

[00:22:47]>> for the briefing. This is the 130th MPC press briefing um led by Governor Dr. Johnson Panyin the policy rate has been maintained at 14%.

[00:22:58]We are also live on Ghana Web. So, we'll take the second round of questions and as usual for brevity, just keep it short. Thank you.

[00:23:11]All right, [clears throat] Governor. My name is Norman Acquah Hayford. I report for Nova Report. I have two questions.

[00:23:16]Quick one. The net international reserves dropped from around 11 >> [clears throat] >> billion to about 10.98 there about. And I want to find out what accounted for this. Was it as a result of interventions that the bank took in April?

[00:23:32]And then also I want to find out from you, COCOBOD plans to issue bonds and bills to the tune of about 11 billion.

[00:23:42]What are the timelines, if you know, and will this be listed as a commercial paper on the stock exchange?

[00:23:50]I want to find out from you. Thank you.

[00:23:54]Right.

[00:23:56]My name is Nana Oye Ankrah. I work with Class FM.

[00:23:59]Uh Governor, I would like to know what your outlook for the cedi is for the next two quarters and how this will impact your policy decisions. Also, I would like to know which sectors are receiving the most lending and which ones are being crowded out. Thank you.

[00:24:21]Yeah.

[00:24:21]>> All right, thank you very much. My name is Nii Trebi. I'm with The Finder newspaper. Um Governor, we know that uh inflation has declined significantly even though it it jumped a little bit in uh the month I mean the last uh month.

[00:24:34]And we know there are improved reserves and also relatively tight monetary conditions. Uh but the cedi continues to face some depreciation pressures. And we are told it's around uh 8.4% in the first 5 months of this year. What does the committee believe is currently driving exchange rate movements? And should the market expect additional policy uh measures in the stabilizing the currency?

[00:24:58]Governor, my name is Belinda Nana Quansa and I'm with GTV. Now, following report by the IMF's monetary and capital market department prepared in collaboration with BoG, there are growing calls from policy analysts for the establishment over the dedicated financial stability committee with a mandate similar to that of the starting of the MPC focusing specifically on systematic risk in the financial sector.

[00:25:29]Given Ghana's recent experience with financial sector stress including spillover effect of DDEP, do you believe the current institutional framework within the bank is sufficient to monitor and mitigate system systematic risk or is there merit in creating a formal standalone macroprudential [clears throat] decision-making body in addition to the financial stability council?

[00:25:58]Thank you. Right, so Belinda concludes this round of questions with a loaded one.

[00:26:03]Right, so Mr. Governor Quite quite a loaded one indeed. So, let me start with Belinda's question on the financial stability committee. Yes, indeed.

[00:26:13]Um we've taken note of that recommendation and the Bank of Ghana board at its next meeting will take a decision on that. Uh but certainly let me let me affirm that establishing that committee will go a long way to support our macroprudential supervision. It's it's another toolkit that will help our first just as we have the monetary policy committee that has been put in place. So, yes, we are working in that direction.

[00:26:46]Then someone asked about CD depreciating why it's so.

[00:26:52]First of all, we have always said it that the framework we have is a managed float. It's not a fixed exchange rate regime. So, the CD is expected to move, all right? On a daily basis, expect the CD to move. It can depreciate, it can appreciate.

[00:27:11]Our concern is to avoid excessive volatility. Right? So, we haven't, you know, announced that we are keeping a fixed exchange rate. It's okay for the CD to be flexible.

[00:27:23]Now, it is true. We've observed a surge in demand, an increase in demand in in recent weeks. Uh but remember the times we are in. The geopolitical, you know, disturbances out there and its impact in terms of oil prices, you know, trade disruptions here and there.

[00:27:43]What that means is the same volume of crude oil is costing about twice more by way of foreign exchange. So, you can you can imagine why there's greater demand on on on effects or therefore some depreciation pressure on the CD.

[00:27:58]Then, remember the seasonal impact as well. You know, we are in the month of May, April, May. This is when banks and other companies, you know, publish their accounts. This is when dividend payments are being made, you know, to other countries.

[00:28:15]When those dividends are being sent out, they don't send CDs. They want to send US dollars. And and it's the same demand, it's the same exchange rate that's to, you know, take the impact.

[00:28:26]So, it's not surprising at all.

[00:28:28]Um we are doing everything we can uh to stem excessive volatility.

[00:28:34]The good part of it all is that we have the buffers we are building on a daily basis.

[00:28:40]At times, you might see the buffers a little, you know, deep. It doesn't mean anything has gone wrong. Remember, it's it's on a daily basis, you know, our trade account is is is is, you know, is is improving. And so, so long as we have the buffers, so long as we continue to add, um it doesn't matter. The cedi, let it float. Let it move. Uh what we will we will ensure is that we won't see a return uh to the kind of volatility we saw in a number of years past.

[00:29:13]Right. And so, if I can give you the NIR, yes, at 10.9 as of April, currently, it is at 12.43 billion. So, that's that's a clear increase.

[00:29:28]That's a clear increase. So, we have the reserves. We have the buffers. And uh we should be able to do what we have to do.

[00:29:35]Um then, there was the next question about the outlook for the cedi.

[00:29:41]I've just said it. We don't have a target for the cedi.

[00:29:45]Um it is an endogenous variable. It's supposed to be flexible. Uh what we do is to, you know, avoid excessive volatility. But, of course, in real terms, we also interested in what happens uh to the cedi in real terms, to make sure that it is not persistently, uh you know, overvalued. So, the MPC, you know, takes the pains to evaluate data on all these variables to make sure that we are very much aligned. And where we are currently, uh we believe that uh in real terms, we are aligned. In nominal terms, um the cedi is experiencing some volatility, but we think we have the buffers. And we do understand why those volatilities are coming in.

[00:30:29]Now, there there was a question on sectors that are receiving the most credit.

[00:30:34]Well, commerce, you know, continues to attract.

[00:30:37]Uh but, you should understand, commerce is an area that is very fluid. Uh but that said, we are beginning credit, you know, strong growth in in private sector credit. And and to the extent that this growth is sustained, all sectors, you know, will benefit. Uh remember where we came from. You know, there used to be, you know, people private sector lend, you know, borrowing at over 30%.

[00:31:04]Currently, going by the GRR, you could borrow at about 10%. And so, let's sustain the private sector credit growth going forward, and we are sure that all sectors will benefit. I'm sure you are aware of some of the other things we are doing, like the digital credit, you know, policy that we are pushing ahead with. So, very soon, it should be possible, no matter which sector you are involved in, uh you can just raise, you know, uh a loan on your mobile phone. Not the type of loans, you know, microcredit people took and never paid back. But this is going to be a well-administered framework. You can raise little sums to, you know, do some things for yourselves.

[00:31:48]So, it will filter through uh over time.

[00:31:52]>> [snorts] >> Then, um I think that is all for the question on the CD depreciation.

[00:32:00]Did Did I answer Novan Novan's question?

[00:32:03]Oh, that was on the NIR, yes.

[00:32:07]Yes.

[00:32:08]Yeah, so the Cocoa Board one, um So, it's it'll be better you speak to Cocoa Board on these, right? Because we are not issuing uh that bond for them.

[00:32:19]All we have to do is to make sure the regulatory requirements are met, and that we are working on. But the actual timetable, volumes, rates, and things like that, um please speak to Cocoa Board on that, Novan.

[00:32:35]All right, thank you very much, Governor.

[00:32:37]Um third round of yes, please go ahead.

[00:32:40]Good afternoon, Mr. Governor. My name is Morris with GTV.

[00:32:44]So, governor, you have worked tirelessly to ensure, among many other things, that we enjoy low fuel price at the pump.

[00:32:56]I just want I just want to know, regardless of how long the US-Iran war lingers, are you able to assure us that we are still in safe hands, that you protect us? Thank you.

[00:33:12]Assurance.

[00:33:16]Good afternoon, governor. My name is Emmanuel Bruce, Reuters.

[00:33:19]I think you mentioned that there was a slowdown in our gold shipments in March and April as a result of the geopolitical tensions. I want to find out if shipments have resumed now, and what was the impact of the slowdown on the country, and then lastly, if any imagine new markets have emerged as a result of this crisis. Thank you.

[00:33:43]All right. My name is Adnan Adams, I'm with the Economic Times newspaper.

[00:33:48]With our NPL ratios, which is a little below 20%, I just wanted to know to what extent the the domestic exchange the debt exchange that, you know, happened sometime ago, to what extent did it contribute to this, and what are we going to do to these commercial banks who do not follow through to the steps of cleaning their books of the high NPLs that currently we have in the banking sector. And looking at the non-interest banking, I think all is set for it to have, you know, it being operationalized now. And as we are looking up to having the first license issued.

[00:34:37]Um, how are you going to ensure that liquidity management and integrated into the the your system um, for supervisory and other activities and others. Thank you.

[00:35:10]We can We can hear you.

[00:35:30]You mean why won't we increase the policy rate?

[00:35:34]Okay.

[00:35:39]All right. So, we can take that. Okay.

[00:35:42]So, Suleiman, maybe I should start with yours. Um, I explained that the committee assesses a number of factors, right?

[00:35:52]Um, call them upside risks versus downside risk, right? In terms of the outlook. And it is about the balance, where the balance is tilted. And and then that guides them as whether to hike or whether to stay put or whether to to to reduce. At this MPC round, the committee was of the opinion that these risks, both to the upside and downside, are pretty balanced. Um, and so they might as well stay for a while. At the next meeting of the MPC, they will evaluate, you know, new data, and then if they have to hike, they will do so.

[00:36:29]If they have to stay put again, they will do so. If they have to, you know, go back to the easing cycle, they will do so. So, yes, the committee is very much aware of the factors going forward.

[00:36:40]They'll continue to observe.

[00:36:43]Then there was a question on non-interest banking. You know, that is something that is dear to my heart. It's It's We are all waiting to see the launch of the first non-interest banking, you know, institution. A lot has been done.

[00:37:00]Professor Gachi is here. I'm sure you all know him.

[00:37:04]We give him a lot of credit for the work he has done.

[00:37:07]Hopefully this year we will see the first license. They are working very hard putting, you know, in place the structures. The regulatory structures are very very stringent. I can assure you. This is best practice. So, have no fears about that at all. The necessary structures have been put in place to ensure that non-interest banking thrives and thrives well. The head of banking supervision is also involved. He's right here. If you want to ask further questions after we end the press briefing, they'll be here to give you further insight on that.

[00:37:44]Then there was a question on commercial banks on NPLs. Yes.

[00:37:52]We have already issued a number of guidelines to commercial banks on these NPLs. The deadline is end of 2026. We expect that the rate will go down further.

[00:38:04]But note that the the the ratio we mentioned is the gross.

[00:38:10]That is without taking out the fully provisioned loans. When you take out the fully provisioned loans, the net NPL works out to around 8% I'm told.

[00:38:20]Aha. So, your question would be why don't we just erase the fully provisioned loans?

[00:38:27]We don't just erase them because there's something called moral hazard. If you just erase them, you could be raising moral hazard issues out there.

[00:38:37]And so we still urge the commercial banks to pursue, you know, the beneficiaries of those loans and as much as possible to collect even though they might have made up they may have written off, you know, fully those loans. They go after them and collect as much as they can.

[00:38:54]And there's a program in place. We are We, you know, working together with the banks to make sure we reduce that stock.

[00:39:01]Once we reduce them, we'll see even the gross MPL ratio declining significantly. So far, there's been a lot of progress made.

[00:39:10]We'll build on that.

[00:39:13]Then there was another question on MPL ratio below 20%.

[00:39:18]Um That's the same question. Okay, so we take it as answered. Then shipments of gold. Yes, the Middle East crisis for a while temporarily disrupted, you know, trade between from here between Ghana and the Middle East, sorry, the UAE. Um but Gold Board has been able to find a way around it. They've been able to secure alternative trade destinations. And so as we speak, shipments are ongoing. They've deployed other strategies to be able to sustain, you know, gold exports. And if you want further detail, I believe Sammy Gyamfi is a media person. He loves to talk. Uh just file your questions to him. You get adequate answers from him.

[00:40:05]Uh then the first one was low fuel pumps, what we are doing.

[00:40:11]So the the the cost of fuel at the pumps, there are a number of variables that work into it. We are not in control of everything. You know, the world market price is part.

[00:40:23]The exchange rate, yes, is part. But also, some of the good things government has been doing by relaxing some of the margins, the built-in margins. All that have contributed, you know, to the kind of prices we are paying at the expense.

[00:40:40]If you look at some of other countries and what is happening, I believe we are lucky that we still, you know, are able to buy fuel at the prices that we are buying it. The question is, how long would that take? And you put it right.

[00:40:54]Which again comes to the question I asked from the beginning.

[00:40:57]The geopolitical problems, you know, in the Middle East. How long is this going to take? If it is temporary, yes, government can continue, you know, to support citizens. We can also continue to sort of manage the exchange rate, and then you can continue enjoying those relatively low, you know, prices.

[00:41:18]But if it's a permanent one, then I'm afraid yes, we'll have to look at it again. So, we are not in charge at all.

[00:41:26]We only do our part. It happens that it benefits fuel prices. Government is doing a large part, and then of course, the global economy is doing their own.

[00:41:37]I believe that's the end of this set.

[00:41:40]That's the end.

[00:42:22]>> Thank you.

[00:42:33]Thank you, Governor. Thanks for for your time.

[00:42:36]Um Governor, I I heard you say that you'll be meeting CEO of banks post MPC to explain to them call it how you arrived at this decision.

[00:42:49]If bankers who are industry players deserve such a treatment, what do you have for us who don't I know industry players?

[00:42:57]Can we also have a post MPC review like we used to It used to exist, but it seemed to be scrapped.

[00:43:04]Thank you.

[00:43:05]Um I noticed that gross gross reserves grew to about 14.4 billion.

[00:43:13]And by May 18 from 13.9. What accounted for the jump? It doesn't seem that clear.

[00:43:22]And lastly, Governor, we have had two rounds of your three eye conference. Yet the ECD seemed to be a mirage upon us.

[00:43:32]I know that it was on the cusp of being launched until certain financial crisis disrupted the whole process. Now we have resilience, we have stability.

[00:43:43]When is the ECD due? Because AI is seriously catching up on us. Thank you.

[00:43:50]Hello, Governor.

[00:43:52]My name is Francis Ento. I work with the Ghana News Agency.

[00:43:56]Considering what happened last year on BoG losses, what strategic options is the BoG considering to reduce its losses.

[00:44:09]And do you know any guess perhaps the percentage that you are looking at to reducing your losses that you get last year.

[00:44:21]Hello governor, my name is Caleb from Joy News. I wanted to find out you mentioned that dollars demand has gone up but also on the supply side has dollar supply reduced in the past few months and if it has is the BOE strategically using its reserves to support the markets as and when. Thank you.

[00:44:45]Hello.

[00:44:47]Yes, governor.

[00:44:48]Domestic debt continue to rise. My question is simple, should we be worried?

[00:45:06]Thank you very much governor. My name is Justice Showalter News Agency. So you spoke about risk and my question is a bit linked to what Francis asked. So going forward what are the risks you envisage in your monetary policy operations and um what are going to be the trade-offs so that you could tell Ghanaians ahead of time that these are the risks that we will encounter especially in financial risks but these are the trade-offs that would even show off at the end to ensure that the economy remains resilient. Um secondly also when you spoke about the high demand for dollar where are some of the which are what are some of the sectors that uh kind of inducing this high demand because some of the things we've heard is the contractors for instance some of them who don't need to import, you know, equipment because they can get it to rent here from plant pools.

[00:46:10]Rather tend to import equipment unnecessarily when they receive government contract. But are there other sectors like that that are putting pressure on the dollar?

[00:46:23]Then my third question is about your the recently held re-echoing friends um I had an eye-opener. I saw a lot of um you know, informal, you know, workers around and I was thinking about the gig economy. Um does the bank, you know, have data on the nature of the gig economy in Ghana, you know, its size and scope and its impact on the entire economy? Thank you.

[00:46:52]Right. Um Justice took the opportunity to take all the other questions that I would have allowed to be asked.

[00:46:59]So, on that note, I would say that this concludes