The Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) recorded total trading volume of GH¢1.55 billion during the week ending November 7, 2025, representing a 41.58 percent decrease compared to the previous week’s GH¢2.65 billion as market activity moderated following a period of elevated trading.
Treasury Bills dominated weekly trading with GH¢965.14 million across multiple transactions, accounting for 62.25 percent of total volume. New Government of Ghana (GOG) bonds contributed GH¢399.29 million, representing 25.75 percent of activity, while sell and buyback trades involving GOG notes and bonds totaled GH¢146.12 million during the period.
The sharp decline in trading volume affected all major market segments. Treasury Bill trading fell 38.93 percent from the previous week’s GH¢1.58 billion, while new GOG bond activity dropped 30.12 percent from GH¢571.43 million. Bank of Ghana (BOG) bills experienced the steepest decline, plummeting 88.28 percent to GH¢38.74 million from GH¢330.49 million the week prior.
Corporate securities trading collapsed 89.75 percent to just GH¢570,000 compared to GH¢5.56 million in the previous week, highlighting persistent challenges in Ghana’s private sector debt markets. Old GOG bonds showed modest activity of GH¢607,782, up 216.10 percent from GH¢192,275, though the absolute volumes remained negligible.
The yield curve for new GOG bonds showed mixed movements across different maturities during the week. Four year bonds recorded yields of 16.04 percent, up from 15.60 percent previously, while 11 year bonds dropped significantly to 15.20 percent from 16.36 percent. Fourteen year bonds declined to 15.79 percent from 16.47 percent the previous week.
Medium term maturities showed stability, with five year, six year, eight year, 10 year, 13 year, and 15 year bonds maintaining unchanged yields. Seven year bonds edged down slightly to 15.39 percent from 15.44 percent, while nine year bonds ticked up marginally to 15.88 percent from 15.87 percent. Twelve year bonds declined to 15.22 percent from 16.07 percent.
The weekly trading patterns reflect normal market fluctuations following exceptionally high volumes in the prior period. Market participants attribute the moderation to reduced liquidity in the banking system and strategic positioning ahead of anticipated monetary policy decisions.
November trading has commenced with GOG notes and bonds recording GH¢399.90 million and Treasury Bills generating GH¢965.14 million through the first week. These figures represent the initial contributions toward monthly totals, following October’s robust performance when GOG instruments reached GH¢12.41 billion and Treasury Bills hit GH¢12.91 billion.
The GFIM continues its strong recovery trajectory in 2025 after experiencing its first significant downturn in 2023 following implementation of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP). Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) Abena Amoah revealed recently that cumulative trading volume from January to October 2025 has crossed the GH¢200 billion mark, putting the market on track to achieve pre DDEP levels.
Trading volume peaked at GH¢230 billion in 2022 before dropping steeply to GH¢98 billion in 2023 due to the DDEP impact. The market rebounded by 76 percent in 2024 to reach GH¢174 billion under Ghana’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) supported economic programme.
Since its inception in August 2015, GFIM has traded over GH¢1 trillion in securities, marking one of the most significant milestones in the country’s capital markets development. From humble beginnings when GH¢5.2 billion in securities were traded between August and December 2015, the market has become one of the most liquid in Sub Saharan Africa outside of South Africa and Nigeria.
The continued dominance of government securities in weekly trading volumes reflects structural features of Ghana’s fixed income market. Banks, which represent the largest participants, typically favor matching short term deposit liabilities with short term assets like Treasury Bills rather than committing to longer duration exposures.
Corporate bond market development remains a key challenge, with only seven active corporate issuers currently participating after four companies recently exited the market. Since inception, GFIM has facilitated corporates raising GH¢24 billion for business growth, though this pales in comparison to government securities activity.
Pension fund assets on the GFIM have grown to over GH¢90 billion, comprising approximately 90 percent of assets under management. This concentration reflects the conservative investment approach of pension fund managers who prioritize fixed income securities for their stable returns and lower risk profiles compared to equities.
The absence of old GOG bond and BOG bill activity in recent sessions, combined with minimal corporate bond trading, indicates market participants are concentrating focus on newly issued government securities that offer greater liquidity and transparency.
Looking ahead, GSE aims to see 100 companies admitted to the GFIM and empower 10 million Ghanaians to participate in the capital market, up from the current 2 million securities account holders. The exchange plans to launch an academy providing preparatory programmes designed to demystify capital markets for companies and their boards while guiding them through requirements for listing and accessing finance.
The GFIM is celebrating its 10th anniversary in November and December 2025 under the theme 10 Years of the Ghana Fixed Income Market: Deepening Markets, Expanding Possibilities. The next decade will focus on deeper corporate market development, sustainable finance instruments including green and social bonds, regional integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework, and leveraging financial technology and blockchain to boost transparency and efficiency.
Market participants continue monitoring domestic economic indicators, monetary policy decisions from the Bank of Ghana, inflation trends, and global market developments that influence emerging market fixed income securities. The approach of year end typically brings increased activity as institutional investors adjust portfolios and assess annual performance targets.
