The value of secured credit registered in Ghana increased by 73.4 percent year-on-year to GH¢31.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026, despite a sharp decline in the number of security interest registrations.
Data from the Bank of Ghana’s Collateral Registry showed that registered secured credit rose from GH¢18.2 billion in the second quarter of 2025 to GH¢31.5 billion in the corresponding period of 2026.
The development indicates that while fewer secured transactions were registered during the period, the value of financing attached to those transactions increased significantly.
Banks accounted for the largest share of the secured credit, registering GH¢19.9 billion, equivalent to 63.1 percent of the total.
Bank-registered secured credit increased by 36.6 percent from GH¢14.5 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2025.
The increase in the value of secured lending contrasts with a 32.2 percent decline in the number of security interest registrations, which fell from 135,721 to 92,033 over the period.
The decline was driven largely by Savings and Loans Companies, whose registrations dropped by 42.4 percent from 119,649 to 68,871.
The figures suggest a shift in the secured credit market, with the second quarter recording substantially higher financing values despite fewer registered security interests.
Rural banks also recorded growth in secured lending during the period, while Savings and Loans Companies experienced a decline.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, total secured credit increased by 57.5 percent, from GH¢20.0 billion in the first quarter of 2026 to GH¢31.5 billion in the second quarter.
Bank lending alone increased by 21.5 percent over the same period.
The data points to a credit market in which the average value of financing associated with registered security interests may have increased, even as the number of registrations declined.
For businesses, particularly those able to provide acceptable collateral, the development could indicate increased access to larger volumes of secured financing through the formal financial system.
However, the sharp decline in registrations also highlights differences in lending activity across financial institutions, particularly the reduction recorded by Savings and Loans Companies.
The Bank of Ghana’s Collateral Registry facilitates the registration of security interests in movable assets, helping lenders use such assets as collateral and strengthening the legal framework for secured lending.
The second-quarter figures therefore point to a notable expansion in the value of secured financing, driven primarily by banks, rather than a broad-based increase in the number of secured credit transactions.
