The Bank of Ghana has announced a loss of GH₵10.50 billion for the financial year ending 2023, a significant loss attributed to an increase in total interest expenses on its open market operations.
During the period under review, these expenses surged by GH₵6.7 billion.
This GH₵10.50 billion loss is, however, a substantial improvement compared to the GH₵60.9 billion loss the Central Bank reported in 2022 following the impairment of its holdings of marketable government stocks and non-marketable instruments during the domestic debt exchange program.
The Bank explained that the rise in expenses was necessary to manage the economy’s excess liquidity.
It was also meant to support the disinflation process as part of the broader macroeconomic adjustment programme.
The Bank of Ghana and its subsidiaries had total liabilities surpassing total assets by GH₵65.36 billion as of December 31, 2023.
The total operating expenses for 2023 were GH₵19.2 billion, a significant decrease from the GH₵66.9 billion recorded in 2022.
This reduction is attributed to lower impairment charges on loans and advances and the Bank’s holdings of Government of Ghana securities.
The Bank of Ghana further explains that “this Open Market Operations activity, which accounted for a major portion of the loss incurred, yielded positive results.”
The Bank of Ghana’s 2023 Annual Report and Financial Statement revealed that “the aggressive mopping up operations, contributed to slowing down inflation to 23.2 per cent by the end of 2023, significantly down from the rate of 54.1 per cent at the end of 2022.”
According to the report, no funds were allocated for reserve appropriation, as the reserve amount was in deficit as of December 31, 2023.
The Central Bank promptly added a note on policy solvency, emphasizing its ability to generate sufficient realized income to cover the costs associated with conducting monetary policy operations.
In the opinion of the Board of Directors and Management, the policy solvency outcome for 2023 is consistent with the perspective held in 2022.