{
  "id": 1556986,
  "title": "Banks’ pre-tax profit jumps 40% to GH¢23bn",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/banks-pre-tax-profit-jumps-40-to-gh-23bn",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-17T20:36:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Joy Business",
    "slug": "joy-business",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/banks-pre-tax-profit-jumps-40-to-gh%c2%a223bn/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Ghana's banking sector experienced a significant boost in profitability in 2025, with pre-tax profit (PBT) rising by 40% to GH¢23 billion, according to the PwC Ghana Banking Survey 2026. This growth was driven by higher investment income, stronger net trading income, and a sharp reduction in net impairment losses. Investment income increased by 45.2% to GH¢7.8 billion, supported by a 57.6% rise in the volume of investment securities held by banks and a directive from the Bank of Ghana requiring banks to maintain reserves in the same currency as the underlying deposits. Net trading income also saw a significant increase of 43.5% to GH¢2.4 billion, largely due to foreign exchange translation and transaction gains. Despite a 26.5% rise in operating expenses, the increased income allowed banks to maintain a higher PBT margin of 52.2%, up from 46.3% in 2024.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}