Banks write-off GH¢893m in half-year 2025

Banks in Ghana wrote off GH¢893.0 million in the first-half of 2025, a 14.8% decline compared to the same period in 2024.

According to the July 2025 Domestic Money Banks Income Statement, the total provision was in respect of loan losses, depreciation and others.

In June 2024, the total write-off was GH¢654.2 million, about 24.2% drop from the same period on 2023.

According to the Bank of Ghana, the asset quality of the banking industry improved in the first-half of 2025.

The banking industry’s Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio declined to 23.1% in June 2025 from 24.2% in June 2024.

When the fully provisioned loan loss category is adjusted for, the industry’s NPL ratio decreased to 8.5% from 10.8%, reflecting decreasing stock in the sub-standard category of nonperforming loans.

The decline in the NPL ratio during the period under review is explained by the lower growth in the NPL stock relative to the growth in total loans.

Similarly, the banking industry’s NPL stock increased by 1.3% to GH¢20.7 billion in June 2025, from GH¢20.4 billion in June 2024. This represented 49.4% year-on-year growth although there was a decrease in the share of foreign currency NPL.

Private Sector NPL

The private sector accounted for the most non-performing loans, being the largest recipient of the industry’s credit.

The proportion of NPLs attributable to the private sector rose marginally to 96.4% in June 2025 from 95.6% in June 2024, while that of the public sector inched down to 3.6% from 4.4% a year earlier.

The commerce and finance sector, and the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector recorded increases in their NPL ratios while that of the manufacturing sector remained unchanged in June 2025 compared with the same reference period in 2024.