Ghanaian importers and exporters are calling on Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and the Bank of Ghana to urgently address the country’s high lending rates, which they argue are stifling business growth despite clear signs of economic recovery.
Their plea follows the recent drop in headline inflation to 13.7% at the end of June 2025 down from 23.8% in December 2024. While this decline signals progress in macroeconomic stability, the business community contends that it has yet to translate into reduced borrowing costs.
Currently, commercial banks charge an average lending rate of about 27%, a figure importers and exporters say is misaligned with the broader disinflation trend and is impeding business expansion, job creation, and competitiveness.
Reacting to the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review, the Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, Samson Asaki Awingobit, welcomed the drop in inflation but decried the inaction on lending rates.
“If inflation has dropped, and the fiscal policies are yielding results, then the reduction in inflation from 23.8 percent to 13.7 percent is a positive development. However, we are still facing challenges with high lending rates,” Awingobit noted.
He emphasized the disconnect between inflation and borrowing costs, recalling that, “Previously, when inflation was at 40 percent, lending rates were around 30 percent. Now that inflation has fallen significantly, the lending rates should also come down.”
Awingobit called for immediate regulatory intervention to ensure that banks adjust their interest rates downward in line with inflation. “I strongly believe the Bank of Ghana must take steps to ensure commercial banks adjust their interest rates in line with the current inflation rate,” he stressed.
The business community’s frustration comes as the Bank of Ghana’s Monetary Policy Committee holds its 125th meeting to review the policy rate.
