Banks write off GH¢1.86bn in bad loans as NPL ratio drops to 15.7% in August 2026
Banks operating in Ghana wrote off GH¢1.86 billion as bad debt as of August 2026. This is a 76.3% increase over GH¢1.05 billion recorded during the same period in 2025. According to the Banks’ Income Statement published by the Bank of Ghana, the provision is made up of loan losses, depreciation, among others. The banks’ […]
Ghanaian banks collectively wrote off GH¢1.86 billion in bad loans in August 2026, marking a 76.3% increase from GH¢1.05 billion in the same period in 2025, according to the Bank of Ghana's income statement. Operating expenses for the banks rose by 6.4% to GH¢13.25 billion. Despite these costs, asset quality indicators improved, with the Non-Performing Loan ratio dropping to 15.7% from 20.8% in 2025, and the adjusted NPL ratio decreasing to 3.8% from 6.8%.
However, the stock of non-performing loans increased marginally to GH¢20.2 billion from GH¢19.8 billion, primarily due to valuation effects on foreign currency-denominated NPLs. The distribution of NPLs remained largely consistent with the sectoral composition of industry credit exposures, with the private sector accounting for 98.0% of NPLs, up from 97.4% the previous year, while the public sector's share fell to 2.0% from 4.0%. Credit risk conditions strengthened overall, though asset quality vulnerabilities persisted.
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