The Bank of Ghana has announced that banks in the country suffered a loss of GH¢6.6 billion in 2022, according to a statement from its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
This is a sharp contrast to the profit of GH¢4.8 billion that banks made in 2021. The Bank of Ghana explained that the 2022 financial statements of banks showed the full impact of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) and the difficult economic conditions that prevailed in the year.
The DDEP was a voluntary initiative by the Government of Ghana to swap about GHS137 billion of its domestic notes and bonds, including E.S.L.A. and Daakye bonds, for new bonds with lower interest rates and longer maturities.
The Bank of Ghana said that most banks reported huge losses due to the revaluation losses on their holdings of Government of Ghana bonds, following the implementation of the DDEP. Other factors that contributed to the losses were higher loan impairments and rising operating costs.
