Two banks in Ghana have recorded non-performing loan (NPL) ratios above 60% in the first quarter of 2025, according to data from the latest C-NERGY Bank Sector Report.
The report, which draws on official financial statements submitted by banks, identifies Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and Prudential Bank as the two institutions with the highest loan default rates during the period under review.
C-NERGY’s survey covered more than 20 banks and forms part of its ongoing monitoring of Ghana’s banking sector. While the average NPL ratio for the industry stood at 22.6% in Q1 2025, both ADB and Prudential Bank recorded levels well above this, each exceeding the 60% threshold, based on the report’s compiled data.
The non-performing loan ratio represents the proportion of a bank’s total loan portfolio that is classified as non-performing, typically referring to loans that are overdue by 90 days or more. Higher NPL levels may affect a bank’s financial position depending on how these loans are provisioned and the bank’s capacity to recover them.
The report attributes the persistently high NPL levels to several macroeconomic and institutional challenges, including rising business operating costs, reduced consumer demand, elevated interest rates, government arrears, weak loan recovery systems, and sector-specific stress in areas such as agriculture and construction.
The report also highlights varying trends across the sector. Some banks maintained NPL ratios below 10%, while others ranged between 20% and 40%. The data reflects a wide divergence in loan book performance across institutions during the first quarter of the year.
According to the bank-level breakdown, Access Bank, First National Bank (FNB), Zenith Bank, and UBA recorded the lowest NPL ratios, staying under the 10% mark. These institutions showed signs of relatively strong asset quality and more stable credit portfolios.
A middle tier of banks, including Ecobank, Republic Bank, Fidelity Bank, and Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG), reported NPL ratios ranging between 15% and 30%, suggesting moderate exposure to credit risk but not yet at crisis levels.
Other banks, such as Bank of Africa (BoA), OmniBSIC, and National Investment Bank (NIB), recorded NPL ratios in the range of 40% to 55%, placing them closer to the upper end of the spectrum, though still below the 60% line recorded by ADB and Prudential Bank.
