The Bank of Ghana (BoG), in its 105th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Meeting Release, has disclosed that the total profit by the banks in the country exceeded GH¢1 Billion in the first two months of 2022, as banking sector continues to show strong asset growth and profitability.
According to the Bank of Ghana, Commercial Banks’ profitability has improved over the first two months of 2022, with “profit before tax totalling GH¢1.3 billion, compared to GH¢1.1 billion profit recorded in the same period last year.”
The Central Bank indicated that the net interest income also grew by 10.3 per cent to settle at GH¢2.2 billion, compared to 10.9 per cent recorded a year ago in the first two months of 2021. Net fees and commissions grew by 11.8 per cent to GH¢486.8 million, lower than the growth of 13.7 per cent registered during the same period last year.
“Other income of the banks stood at GH¢383.2 million, representing 95.5 per cent growth, compared with a contraction of 16.5 per cent in the same period last year. These developments resulted in a 16.9 per cent growth in operating income to GH¢3.1 billion, compared with a growth of 8.7 per cent in the corresponding year. However, operating expenses went up by 21.3 per cent on account of higher administrative costs and emoluments, relative to a contraction of 0.3 percent in the same period last year.”
Bank of Ghana
Total Bank Assets Improve
The Central Bank stated that the banks’ total assets stood at GH¢187.8 billion in February 2022, representing 23.5 per cent annual growth, compared with 18.5 percent growth in the previous year.
“The growth in assets was on the back of increased deposits and borrowing. Total deposits recorded a year-on-year growth of 18.2 percent to GH¢123.0 billion. Borrowing increased significantly by 78.8 percent to GH¢25.5 billion, relative to the contraction of 23.4 percent in the previous year.”
Bank of Ghana
The Bank of Ghana noted that the rebound in credit growth continued in the first two months of 2022, with a 70.7 per cent increase in New Advances to GH¢8.0 billion compared with 24.6 per cent growth in the same period last year.
The Central Bank moreover, indicated that trends in the financial soundness indicators remained positive, and is underpinned by strong solvency, liquidity, and profitability.
“The Capital Adequacy Ratio of the Industry was 19.6 per cent at end-February 2022, well above the current 11.5 per cent regulatory minimum threshold. Core liquid assets to short-term liabilities was 24.2 percent in February 2022, compared with 26.5 percent in the previous year.”
Bank of Ghana
The Bank of Ghana noted that improvements in asset quality continued into 2022, with the Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio declining to 14.4 per cent on average, at end-February 2022, compared with the NPL ratio of 15.3 per cent in February 2021.
READ ALSO: Bank Of Ghana Increases Policy Rate By 250 Basis Points To 17 Percent
