Bank of Ghana Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama has told Parliament that keeping the policy rate at 14% between May and September 2026 helped safeguard macroeconomic stability.
Speaking to Parliament’s Committee on Economy and Development at Parliament House on Friday, November 6, Dr Asiama explained the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to pause its programme of interest rate cuts during the first half of the year.
The policy rate had been reduced from 18.0% to 15.5% in January, before falling to 14.0% in March. It was then held at that level during the MPC’s July and September meetings, where it remains.
“This was a deliberate and forward-looking decision in response to emerging inflationary risks. The escalation of the conflict in the Middle East had pushed up global crude oil prices, utility tariffs had been adjusted, and inflation had begun to edge up from its March low of 3.2 per cent,” Dr Asiama told lawmakers.
He said the committee had also considered the risks posed by crude oil prices exceeding US$100 per barrel, interest rate increases by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, domestic price pressures and the possible effects of a strong El Nino.
“The Committee considered it prudent to pause the easing cycle, preserve the credibility built through the disinflation process and allow the effects of earlier policy reductions to work through the economy,” he added.
Data from the Ghana Statistical Service and the Bank of Ghana showed headline inflation reached 5.5% in October 2026. That was up from 4.6% in July and 5.2% in September, although it remained below the medium-term target band of 6 to 10%.
Economic growth and banking
Dr Asiama reported that real GDP growth stood at 6.4% in the first quarter of 2026 and 6.0% in the second quarter.
The average bank lending rate declined from 27.0% in June 2025 to 15.6% in June 2026. Over the same period, private sector credit grew by 41.2%.
Banking sector assets increased by 30.7% to GH¢502.4 billion by June 2026. The sector’s capital adequacy ratio was 20.4%, while the non-performing loans ratio fell from 23.1% in June 2025 to 15.7% in August 2026.
Ghana recorded a US$8.81 billion trade surplus and a US$5.1 billion current account surplus during the first half of the year.
Gross international reserves stood at US$12.94 billion, equivalent to 5.0 months of import cover, at the end of June. By September 22, reserves were US$12.05 billion, covering 4.5 months of imports.
Dr Asiama also pointed to the introduction of a uniform 20% domestic-currency cash reserve ratio on June 4, a rules-based foreign exchange framework and the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Programme (GANRAP), which aims to achieve 15 months of import cover by 2028.
