The current challenging business environment has negatively affected the profits of some listed banks in the first half of this year.

For the first time in a long while, some of the banks listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) saw earnings decline, while some even recorded losses.

UT Bank leads the pack of banks that made losses with a 30.6 million Ghana cedis loss.

Three other listed banks, HFC, Standard Chartered and SG-SSB were not spared.

HFC’s earnings slumped from 25.9 million Ghana cedis to about 18 million Ghana cedis.

 SG-SSB profits declined to 13.2 million cedis while Standard Chartered Bank's profits also declined to 73 million cedis from 110 million Ghana cedis.

However, the situation is different for some banks.

ECOBANK’s profit increased substantially to 195 million Ghana cedis, followed closely by GCB with 151 million Ghana cedis.

CAL Bank also recorded a 78 million Ghana cedis profit for half year.

Some analyst say the declining profits was due to the fluctuating cedi, tax hikes and a power crisis that has shot up the cost of doing business, and affected the ability of most businesses to pay loans borrowed on time. 

The slump in earnings of the banks could have a serious impact on the economy. Some analysts even fear access to credit could prove a daunting task going forward.