Banking consultant Dr. Richmond Atuahene has described the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) reported GH₵15.6 billion loss as a “necessary evil,” arguing that they reflect policy actions taken to stabilise the macroeconomic environment rather than operational failure.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday, May 1, Dr. Atuahene said the central bank’s 2025 financial results, though appearing worrying on the surface, require deeper analysis to understand their underlying drivers.

“What I’ve seen is that their losses have increased, and it looks like a big worry, but if you go into the details, you would appreciate that it is a necessary evil,” he said.

He explained that the headline losses were largely driven by three major factors: currency revaluation effects, open market operations (OMO), and issues relating to gold transactions.

According to him, foreign exchange revaluation losses occur when the cedi appreciates against major foreign currencies such as the US dollar or euro, affecting the valuation of the central bank’s foreign assets.

He further noted that the Bank of Ghana’s aggressive use of OMO instruments to contain inflation also contributed significantly to the losses.

“If you want to bring inflation down, you have to be aggressive through OMO operations. That made them move from about GH₵ 8.1 billion to GH₵ 16.7 billion in losses,” he explained.

Dr. Atuahene also pointed to ongoing challenges in the accounting and management of gold transactions, describing them as a long-standing issue dating back to 2021.

“The gold issues are not new. We need to sit down as a country and restructure gold transactions because they are very important for currency stability and reserve building,” he said.

He stressed that despite the financial losses, the central bank’s actions were aimed at strengthening macroeconomic stability and restoring confidence in the economy.