Author: Admin
According to the Bank’s published financial figures for the first nine months of 2024, the bank recorded impressive profit before tax of GHC176.414 million compared with GHC26.999 million recorded during the same period in 2023, representing a profit growth of over 600 percent.
Adnan Adams Mohammed The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has introduced a new price floor for the second pricing window, effective from 16 to 31 October 2024. The authority has set a minimum price of GH₵12.73 per litre for petrol and GH₵13.43 per litre for diesel. This move means that no Oil Marketing Company (OMC) will be allowed to sell below these prices. In a notice to OMCs and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) marketers, the NPA urged all industry players to comply with the new price floors during the specified window. The NPA clarified…
Adnan Adams Mohammed After losing approximately 24 percent of its value against the US dollar, the Ghana Cedi is currently the fourth weakest or worst performing currency in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This is according to the World Bank’s October 2024 Africa Pulse Report launched last week. Ghana is ahead of Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Sudan with worst performing currency in 2024. South Sudan’s pound recorded over 60% loss, Ethiopia’s birr (51%), and Nigeria’s naira (over 40%). In contrast, the Kenyan shilling has emerged as the best-performing currency in Africa, showing a year-to-date appreciation of…
Adnan Adams Mohammed The Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) have adopted stringent measures to help in prompt threat and fraud detection and the management of such. These initiatives are aimed at bolstering the banking sector’s defences against increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes as depicted in the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) latest Fraud Report. The report which was launched recently analyzed fraud trends from 2019 to 2023. The report unveiled alarming trend of fraud committed by internal staffs of banks among others. However, as part of GAB’s strategy to adoption advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and…
MTN Ayo Insurance fleeces customers
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reviewed the Fund’s charges and surcharge policy, resulting in a cut on the cost of borrowing. Ms Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, issued a statement following the conclusion of the review, saying: “In a challenging global environment and at a time of high interest rates, our membership has reached consensus on a comprehensive package that substantially reduces the cost of borrowing while safeguarding the IMF’s financial capacity to support countries in need.” She said: “The approved measures will lower IMF borrowing costs for members by 36 per cent,…
The World Bank says Sub-Sahara African governments’ debt remains high and riskier but notes that some progress has been made in debt restructuring. In its October 2024 Africa Pulse Report, the World Bank said over the past decades, external public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) debt in Sub-Saharan Africa has been increasing, and it has more than quadrupled since 2006. 2022, the total external PPG debt reached US$462 billion, compared to US$108 billion in 2006. Rising external debt mirrors the changes in the composition of external debt creditors. Multilateral financing has increased over a protracted period among LICs in the region.…
The government of Ghana has officially resumed payments on its Eurobond debts following the successful completion of a debt exchange programme with bondholders. The Ministry of Finance confirmed a total payment of $520 million, which includes a $120 million consent fee to bondholders who accepted the terms of the debt exchange. The debt service, which resumed last Friday, also comprises $320 million in coupon payments that had been frozen since the government suspended debt servicing in 2022. Ghana restructured $13 billion in Eurobond debt, achieving a 98% participation rate from bondholders, paving the way for the resumption of payments. Regular…
The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr George Mireku Duker has charged th e management of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) to partner with the National Security, Lands and Finance Ministries to curb gold smuggling. He indicated that the trend where a chunk of the country’s precious minerals leaves the borders of the country unchecked affects the economy and hence cannot be allowed to continue. The Minister who said this at the Second MIIF Stakeholders Forum on Wednesday in Accra, noted that in 2022 alone, it was reported that nearly 60 tonnes of gold were smuggled…
Rising external debt mirrors the changes in the composition of external debt creditors.