OmniBSIC Bank offered the lowest interest rate on household loans in May 2026, according to the latest Annualised Percentage Rate (APR) data released by the Bank of Ghana on July 17.

The bank recorded an APR of 5.03% on household credit facilities with a five-year tenure, despite the Ghana Reference Rate — the industry benchmark for loan pricing — standing at 10.03% during the period.

Stanbic Bank Ghana followed with an APR of 11.59% on three-year household credit facilities.

For one-year household loans, Standard Chartered Bank offered the lowest APR at 11.62%.

The data also showed significant variations in lending rates across the banking industry. While some banks offered relatively low rates, others charged as much as 39% on household loans, even though the Ghana Reference Rate for May stood at 10.05%.

What the APR means

According to the Bank of Ghana, the Annualised Percentage Rate reflects the true cost of borrowing after a loan has been approved.

The APR comprises the Ghana Reference Rate, bank-specific risk premiums and other charges applied by individual banks.

The central bank stressed that the published APRs are indicative and that the actual rate offered to a customer may differ depending on the bank’s assessment of the borrower’s risk profile and circumstances.

The Bank of Ghana has maintained that publishing APR data regularly promotes transparency, encourages competition among banks and helps prospective borrowers compare loan offers before making borrowing decisions.

The reporting framework was also revised following years of concerns from some commercial banks over how lending rates were previously presented without sufficient categorisation.

Lending rates for SMEs and corporates

For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Standard Chartered Bank offered the lowest APR of 11.03% on one-year credit facilities in May 2026.

Stanbic Bank Ghana recorded the lowest APR for three-year SME loans at 13.04%, while Ecobank Ghana offered the lowest APR for five-year SME loans at 13.97%.

The BoG data also revealed that some banks charged as much as 33.58% on SME loans during the month.

For corporate lending, Absa offered the lowest APR of 7.62% on one-year facilities and 9.78% on three-year facilities.

Ecobank Ghana recorded the lowest APR of 13.16% on five-year corporate loans.

At the upper end of the market, some commercial banks charged corporate borrowers APRs of up to 35.52%.

Across all lending categories, the Bank of Ghana reported an average APR of 17.64%, while the highest APR among commercial banks was 39.27%.