Government, according to finance minister Cassiel Ato Forson has injected GH₵3.4 billion into “troubled” National Investment Bank (NIB), reversing years of undercapitalization and stabilizing the lender’s operations after what the minister described as “near collapse” inherited from the previous administration.
The capital injection, comprising GH₵450 million in cash, GH₵1.5 billion in bonds, and GH₵500 million in shares of Nestle Ghana, has raised the bank’s capital adequacy ratio from negative 53.13% in December 2024 to 23% in May 2025.
Speaking during the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament, he said the move had preserved GHS6.4 billion in deposits and more than 900 jobs. The government also plans to eventually list NIB on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
“NIB is now liquid. NIB is now safe. NIB is fully capitalized,” Forson said. “We chose to spend to save a bank, not to collapse it.”
The recapitalization follows Ghana’s broader strategy to restore investor confidence and rebuild the financial sector after the banking crisis of recent years.
Yields on Ghana’s treasury bills have plunged amid improved macroeconomic stability, the Minister noted. The 91-day bill rate fell to 14.7% in June 2025, down from 27.7% in December. Rates on 182-day and 364-day bills dropped by more than 13 percentage points each over the same period. The average commercial bank lending rate declined to 27% from 30.3%, while the Ghana Reference Rate eased to 24% from 29.3%.
The government credited the decline to aggressive fiscal consolidation and tighter monetary policy. Ato Forson said Ghana saved GHS4.9 billion in domestic interest payments by mid-2025 thanks to reduced borrowing and lower market rates.
Inflation also eased sharply, with headline consumer prices dropping to 13.7% in June from 23.8% at the end of 2024. Food inflation fell by more than 11 percentage points to 16.3%, and producer price inflation sank to 5.9% from 26.1% over the same period. The minister said the government’s efforts to control fuel, transport, and food prices were starting to bear fruit.
On the fiscal front, Ghana posted a primary surplus of 1.1% of GDP on a commitment basis in the first half of the year, well above the 0.4% target. The overall deficit stood at 0.7%, compared to a projected 1.8%. Non-oil tax revenue exceeded target by GH₵787 million, led by corporate taxes and mineral royalties, though import duties underperformed.
Ato Forson highlighted a dramatic recovery in the cedi, which appreciated 42.6% against the dollar in the first half of 2025, strengthening from GH₵17 to GHS10.4 to the dollar. The gains, he said, were the strongest in Ghana’s history and had reversed most of the currency depreciation seen between 2022 and 2024.
Gross international reserves rose to $11.12 billion, equivalent to 4.8 months of import cover, up from $8.98 billion at the end of 2024. Ghana’s trade surplus jumped more than 300% to $5.57 billion in June, boosted by gold and cocoa exports and reduced imports.
Fitch Ratings recently upgraded Ghana’s foreign currency issuer rating to B- with a stable outlook, citing strong nominal GDP growth, lower debt, and improved relations with creditors. The upgrade marks Ghana’s first return to the ‘B’ category since 2021.
Ato Forson said the government would maintain its focus on fiscal discipline, revenue mobilization, and structural reforms to ensure long-term stability. “Ghana is back,” he told lawmakers.
