The Bank of Ghana reported a net loss of GHS10.5 billion for the fiscal year ending 2023. This loss is primarily attributable to a significant increase in total interest expenses incurred during open market operations. These expenses rose by GHS6.7 billion compared to the previous year.
The Central Bank recorded a loss of GH₵60.9 billion in 2022 as a result of the impairment of its holdings of marketable government equities and non-marketable assets during the domestic debt exchange scheme; nonetheless, this GH₵10.50 billion loss represents a significant improvement.
The Bank clarified that the increase in costs was required to control the excess liquidity in the economy.
Additionally, it was intended to aid in the deflationary process as a component of the larger macroeconomic adjustment plan.
As of December 31, 2023, the total liabilities of the Bank of Ghana and its subsidiaries exceeded the total assets by GH₵65.36 billion.
GH₵19.2 billion was the overall operating expense for 2023, a considerable drop from GH₵66.9 billion in 2022.
Lower impairment costs on loans and advances as well as the Bank’s holdings of assets issued by the Government of Ghana are blamed for this decrease.
“This Open Market Operations activity, which accounted for a major portion of the loss incurred, yielded positive results,” the Bank of Ghana adds in its explanation.
“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 Bank of Ghana’s 2023 Annual Report and Financial Statement.
The report states that because the reserve amount was less than what was needed as of December 31, 2023, no money was set aside for reserve appropriation.
The Central Bank quickly appended a policy solvency note, highlighting its capacity to produce enough realized income to meet the expenses related to carrying out monetary policy operations.
The Board of Directors and Management believe that the policy solvency result for 2023 is in line with the viewpoint from 2022.
