Government will fully recapitalise the Bank of Ghana (BoG) by 2032, Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Baah Forson said, backed by new law triggering automatic capital injections when minimums are breached.
Speaking at a Friday press briefing in Accra to mark the close of Ghana’s three year US$3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) supported programme, Forson said the amended central bank legislation would give legal cover to a phased rebuild of the BoG’s balance sheet through to the 2032 target.
“The government is committed to fully capitalise the central bank,” he said.
The minister set the recapitalisation timeline against the backdrop of significant strain on the BoG’s books. The central bank closed 2025 with negative equity of about GH₵96.28 billion after combined losses of roughly GH₵35 billion during the year, comprising a GH₵15.63 billion operating loss and a GH₵19.32 billion Other Comprehensive Income (OCI) loss.
Under the amended Act, government will rebuild that capital position gradually while ensuring the BoG retains the firepower to pursue its core price stability mandate. The new automatic recapitalisation clause means any future shortfall below the statutory minimum triggers state intervention without requiring fresh parliamentary approval.
Forson framed the legislation as a credible roadmap rather than a one time correction, stressing that restoring the BoG to full financial health remains a priority for both fiscal and monetary credibility.
IMF Mission Chief for Ghana, Ruben Atoyan, called the central bank’s 2025 financial condition challenging, attributing the strain to elevated open market operation costs, high interest rates, aggressive liquidity mopping, and adverse exchange rate movements.
Atoyan said the Fund has built the recapitalisation trajectory into its debt sustainability analysis and supported the BoG’s decision to sell part of its gold holdings at the close of 2025 to firm up the balance sheet.
He added that the Fund has been in close discussions with Ghanaian authorities on minimising losses tied to the domestic bond programme and reducing associated risks, with further detail expected in the upcoming staff report.
The Mission Chief described the mix of fiscal consolidation, debt sustainability gains, and the new BoG recapitalisation framework as the foundation of a credible recovery, while urging authorities to stay the course on reforms and build resilience against the next shock.
