Banks wrote off GH¢1.23bn as bad debt in the half-year 2026
This was 38% year-on-increase over that of GH¢893.0 million recorded in June 2025
Banks in Ghana recorded a significant increase in bad debt, writing off GH¢1.23 billion in loan losses during the first half of 2026, a 38% rise from GH¢893.0 million in June 2025, as per the Domestic Money Banks’ Income Statement. The asset quality risks remained elevated in June 2026, despite improvements in key indicators, according to the July 2026 Monetary Policy Report.
The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio decreased to 16.1% from 23.1% in June 2025, while the fully provisioned NPL ratio improved to 4.6% from 8.5% over the same period. Moreover, the stock of non-performing loans fell to GH¢19.9 billion in June 2026, compared to GH¢20.7 billion the previous year. These developments suggest an improvement in credit risk conditions, although asset quality vulnerabilities continue to be a concern.
The NPL distribution remains heavily influenced by private sector credit, accounting for 98.0% of NPLs in June 2026, up from 96.4% in June 2025, while the public sector's share declined to 2.0% from 3.6% over the same period.
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