… as Ghana lags SSA peers
Concerns over the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) deteriorating financial position have emerged as a factor softening the cedi, as Ghana’s currency posted the steepest losses among tracked sub-Saharan African peers over the two weeks to 8 May 2026.
The Bank’s 2025 financial statements, released on 1 May, revealed a net loss of GH¢15.63 billion (US$1.39 billion) for the year ended 31 December, a 65 percent increase from the GH¢9.49 billion (US$841 million) loss recorded in 2024. The total operating loss was compounded by other comprehensive income losses of GH¢19.32 billion (US$1.71 billion), bringing the Bank’s combined loss for the year to GH¢34.95 billion (US$3.10 billion).
The operating loss was driven primarily by the cost of open market operations (OMO) used to absorb excess cedi liquidity and the cost of the domestic gold purchase programme, while the comprehensive income loss reflected the impact of cedi appreciation on the cedi-equivalent value of the Bank’s foreign-currency reserve assets.
The central bank ended 2025 with a negative equity position of GH¢93.82 billion (US$8.32 billion), widening from GH¢58.62 billion (US$5.20 billion) in 2024, a deterioration that analysts say has continued to weigh on foreign exchange market sentiment. The government has acknowledged its statutory obligation to recapitalise the Bank under the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002, and a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of Finance and the Bank on January 6, 2025 sets out a phased recapitalisation programme spanning 2026 to 2032, under which the government will transfer financial instruments and cash in tranches to rebuild the Bank’s equity base.
More Read
A return to positive net equity is projected by 2032, contingent on sustained disinflation, strict adherence to a zero monetary financing policy, and timely implementation of the recapitalisation programme.
Databank Research, in its bi-weekly currency note published on May 11, cited the BoG’s financial position as one of three factors behind the cedi’s recent softness, alongside sustained import demand and cautious foreign exchange supply conditions.
“Broadly in line with our forecast, the cedi suffered mild pressure ahead of the ongoing IMF sixth mission review, expected to close on 15 May 2026. We believe this reflects a mix of sustained import demand and cautious FX supply conditions, with sentiment further influenced by recent financial position concerns of the Bank of Ghana,” it said.
In the interbank market, the cedi weakened 1.64 percent against the dollar to GH¢11.28 (US$1) over the review period, while losing 2.46 percent against the pound to GH¢15.36 (US$1.36) and 2.15 percent against the euro to GH¢13.28 (US$1.18). Year-to-date depreciation averaged 7.8 percent as of 8 May, against 2.5 percent over the same period last year.
The moves stand out against a broadly stable SSA currency development in the period under consideration. Morocco’s dirham strengthened 1.31 percent against the dollar over the same period, while Botswana’s pula gained 0.53 percent and the West African CFA franc rose 0.54 percent. Kenya, Tanzania, and Tunisia recorded only marginal movements.
Of the fifteen SSA currencies tracked by Databank Research, only Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Mauritius posted dollar losses, and Ghana’s decline was the steepest.
South Africa’s rand was the only other currency in the basket to post comparable losses, weakening 1.20 percent to ZAR16.43 per dollar. However, the rand’s pressure was attributed to the impact of higher crude oil prices on the country’s import bill and current account position, an externally driven dynamic distinct from the structural factors weighing on the cedi.
Where South Africa’s vulnerability in the period was commodity-linked and broadly shared with other oil-importing economies, Ghana’s weakness reflected domestic institutional and fiscal factors that have persisted well beyond the acute phase of its 2022 sovereign default.
Expectations of a near-term recovery remain anchored, according to Databank, on strong reserve buffers and anticipated IMF approval of a US$385 million disbursement under Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility programme. The Fund’s sixth review mission is expected to close on 15 May 2026, and a successful outcome is widely seen as the key condition for renewed foreign exchange support.
More Read
“We maintain our view of contained volatility, with the cedi expected to remain steady within a 10.95–11.35/USD range by the close of the next fortnight,” the note said.
In the retail market, the dollar traded at GH¢11.83 (US$1) as of 8 May, against a one-year high of GH¢12.15 (US$1.08) and a one-year low of GH¢11.45 (US$1.02).
