Banks write off GH₵893m bad loans first half 2025
Banks operating in Ghana wrote off a total of GHS893.0 million in the first half of 2025, representing a 14.8 per cent decline compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Bank of Ghana’s July 2025 Domestic Money Banks Income Statement.
The total write-off, which covers loan losses, depreciation and other impairments, underscores the industry’s ongoing efforts to clean up balance sheets and strengthen asset quality amid cautious lending conditions.
For comparison, total write-offs in June 2024 amounted to GHS654.2 million, which itself reflected a 24.2 per cent drop from the same period in 2023, pointing to a sustained trend of credit quality improvement.
According to the Bank of Ghana, the asset quality of the banking sector improved further in the first half of 2025, supported by stronger risk management practices and reduced exposure to high-risk loans.
The industry’s Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio declined to 23.1 per cent in June 2025, down from 24.2 per cent in June 2024.
When adjusted for fully provisioned loan losses, the core NPL ratio stood at 8.5 per cent, a notable reduction from 10.8 per cent a year earlier.
The central bank attributed the improvement to slower growth in NPL stock relative to total loans, as well as declining levels in the sub-standard category of non-performing assets.
During the same period, the total NPL stock increased slightly by 1.3 per cent, from GHS20.4 billion in June 2024 to GHS20.7 billion in June 2025.
This represented a 49.4 per cent year-on-year growth in absolute terms, but with a smaller proportion of foreign currency-denominated NPLs, suggesting better repayment performance among exporters and foreign exchange earners.
The report further revealed that the private sector continues to account for the bulk of non-performing loans, being the largest recipient of bank credit.
The share of NPLs attributable to the private sector rose marginally to 96.4 per cent in June 2025, up from 95.6 per cent a year earlier, while the public sector’s share declined to 3.6 per cent from 4.4 per cent.
By sectoral distribution, the commerce and finance, and agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors recorded increases in their NPL ratios, while the manufacturing sector’s ratio remained unchanged compared to June 2024.
The Bank of Ghana reiterated its commitment to monitoring credit risk trends closely, encouraging banks to maintain prudent lending standards as part of efforts to strengthen the resilience of the financial system.
