The Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) processed GH¢361.12 million across 266 transactions on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, with treasury bills maintaining their overwhelming dominance as investors continued prioritizing short term government securities over longer duration instruments.
Treasury bills captured GH¢282.95 million through 248 separate deals, accounting for 78.36 percent of total trading volume. The session’s most actively traded instrument was a treasury bill maturing January 26, 2026, which recorded GH¢185.75 million in volume across 26 transactions and closed at 98.4035 cedis per 100 cedis face value.
Sell and buy back trades involving Government of Ghana (GOG) notes and bonds contributed GH¢76.42 million through 10 transactions, representing the second largest segment of market activity. The highest value repo transaction involved a GOG bond maturing February 12, 2030, carrying an 8.80 percent coupon, which saw GH¢50 million change hands in a single deal at a yield of 22.40 percent and a closing price of 63.7725 cedis.
Corporate bonds recorded their first trading activity of the week as a bond from Consolidated Bank Ghana (CMB) maturing August 31, 2026, with a 13 percent coupon, traded GH¢1.14 million in one transaction at a closing price of 85.1183 cedis. This marked a rare appearance for corporate paper in a market heavily concentrated in government securities.
Old GOG notes and bonds saw minimal activity with just GH¢615,350 traded across seven transactions. The largest volume in this segment involved GH¢613,100 across three deals for a bond maturing March 2, 2026, carrying an 18.30 percent coupon. This security traded at a yield of 20.10 percent with a closing price of 99.2790 cedis, reflecting the premium pricing typically associated with higher coupon legacy securities.
Bank of Ghana (BOG) bills recorded no trading activity during Wednesday’s session. These central bank instruments, which serve crucial roles in liquidity management operations, typically see less secondary market activity than treasury bills when banking system liquidity remains sufficient.
Wednesday’s trading volume represents a substantial increase from recent sessions and reflects renewed investor interest in fixed income securities following a period of market consolidation. The session featured strong participation across institutional investors including banks, pension funds, and asset managers seeking to position portfolios ahead of year end.
The treasury bill market’s continued dominance underscores structural features of Ghana’s financial system. Banks, which represent the largest market participants, typically favor matching short term deposit liabilities with short term assets like treasury bills rather than committing to longer duration exposures. This preference persists despite Ghana’s improving macroeconomic fundamentals, including inflation that has declined significantly from peak levels recorded in 2022 and 2023.
The GFIM continues its strong recovery trajectory in 2025 following its first significant downturn in 2023 after 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 crossed the GH¢200 billion mark, putting the market on track to achieve pre DDEP levels.
Market participants attribute the sustained appetite for treasury bills to several factors including liquidity preferences among institutional investors, attractive yields relative to inflation expectations, and reduced uncertainty about Ghana’s debt sustainability following successful completion of the DDEP and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. The treasury bill market offers investors capital preservation with reasonable returns while maintaining flexibility to respond to changing market conditions.
The elevated yields visible in Wednesday’s trading continue reflecting risk premiums that investors demand for holding Ghanaian government debt. The 22.40 percent yield on the decade long bond in the sell and buy back segment indicates that medium term government securities still carry significant rate structures despite improvements in the country’s fiscal position and declining inflation.
Corporate bond activity remains a key challenge for market development. Only eight active corporate issuers currently participate in the GFIM after four companies recently exited, down from a previous pool of twelve. The limited depth in corporate debt reflects various factors including company preferences for bank financing, regulatory requirements for bond issuances, and investor concentration in government securities perceived as lower risk.
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.” Since inception in August 2015, the market has traded over GH¢1 trillion in securities, becoming one of Sub Saharan Africa’s most liquid fixed income platforms outside South Africa and Nigeria.
Looking ahead, the GSE aims to admit 100 companies to the GFIM and empower 10 million Ghanaians to participate in capital markets, up from the current 2 million securities account holders. The exchange plans launching an academy providing preparatory programs designed to demystify capital markets for companies and their boards while guiding them through listing requirements and finance access procedures.
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. These initiatives aim to transform the GFIM into a more diverse platform that serves a broader range of issuers and investors while maintaining rigorous standards.
Repo transactions demonstrated in Wednesday’s sell and buy back segment remain an important component of market infrastructure. These arrangements allow investors to access temporary liquidity while maintaining exposure to government bond positions, providing flexibility for managing cash flows and portfolio positioning without permanently selling underlying securities.
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 capital preservation characteristics. The growing pension fund participation provides consistent demand for government securities and contributes to market depth.
Market observers will monitor several factors that could influence trading patterns in coming weeks. These include fourth quarter government borrowing requirements, monetary policy signals from the Bank of Ghana regarding interest rate direction, inflation trends that affect real returns on fixed income investments, and any developments in Ghana’s ongoing IMF program that could impact investor confidence in fiscal sustainability.
Wednesday’s strong trading volume suggests healthy market liquidity and continued investor confidence in Ghana’s fixed income securities. The concentration in treasury bills reflects ongoing preferences for shorter duration instruments, while the appearance of corporate bond activity, though limited, indicates some diversity remains available for investors seeking alternatives to government paper.
