In the first six months of 2026, Ghanaian banks reported a GH¢1.23 billion write‑off as bad debt, a sharp increase of 38 percent over the GH¢893 million recorded in the same period a year earlier.
The provision, classified under loan losses and depreciation, appears in the Domestic Money Banks’ Income Statement highlights. While the sector’s non‑performing loan (NPL) ratio fell to 16.1 percent in June 2026 from 23.1 percent in June 2025, the adjusted NPL ratio – accounting for fully provisioned loans – improved to 4.6 percent from 8.5 percent.
The total stock of non‑performing loans also declined, dropping to GH¢19.9 billion in June 2026 from GH¢20.7 billion a year earlier. These figures suggest a modest improvement in credit risk conditions, yet the Monetary Policy Report for July 2026 notes that asset quality risks remain elevated.
Private‑sector credit continues to dominate the NPL portfolio, accounting for 98.0 percent of non‑performing loans in June 2026, up from 96.4 percent a year prior. Public‑sector NPLs fell to 2.0 percent from 3.6 percent, keeping the overall distribution consistent with the sectoral mix of bank exposures.
Banking regulators will likely monitor these trends closely as they assess the sector’s resilience and the adequacy of loan loss provisions in the coming months.
