Banks NPL ratio of 16.1% is still too high – S&P

S&P Global says banks Non-Performing Loan ratio of 16.1% as of June 2026 is considered to be too high.

According to the ratings agency, the ratio reflects the domestic debt exchange programme in 2022, the government’s large arrears owed to suppliers and contractors, and exchange rate and inflationary pressures on households and businesses in recent years.

In its rating assessment of Ghana, the US-based firm said credit risk in the banking system remains elevated, after years of macroeconomic instability, the government default, and the debt restructuring.

It continued that after the domestic debt restructuring in 2022, 13 local banks required recapitalization.

However, it pointed out that five including one state-owned bank are undercapitalised

“Although most have met the recapitalization requirements, five of them (including a state-owned bank) are still undercapitalised”.

This is contrary to the Bank of Ghana assertion that all banks have met the new minimum capital requirement.

On inflation, it stressed that although inflationary pressures have been increasing in 2026, it anticipates that they will be contained compared with Ghana’s historical norm.

“The credibility and effectiveness of the country’s monetary policy are improving. After years of sizable fiscal deficit financing, the government seems to have put an end to monetary financing of the deficit. Nevertheless, we do not expect the low inflation seen at the start of 2026 to last; average inflation is more likely to be at the upper end of the Bank of Ghana’s 6%-10% target, until 2029”, it concluded.