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By Efua Nessa
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has clarified that its financial statements differ significantly from those of commercial entities, which exist primarily to generate profit. In contrast, a central bank’s role is to achieve public policy objectives: maintaining price stability, ensuring financial stability, and managing the country’s external reserves.
According to the BoG, its financial statements should be viewed as a record of the financial outcomes of policy operations, not as an indicator of commercial performance.
“This distinction has practical implications,” the Bank explained. “A central bank may report a financial loss even while effectively delivering its mandate, particularly when the cost of monetary policy actions exceeds income from other activities. Peer institutions like the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, and Reserve Bank of Australia have all reported substantial losses in recent years due to similar policy measures.”
The BoG emphasized that its 2025 financial results reflect the financial impact of policy operations and do not indicate a cash loss, depletion of reserves, or institutional distress. Negative equity, which increased in 2025, is a cumulative position from prior years and does not hinder the Bank’s ability to conduct monetary policy.
“As inflation declines and the policy rate normalizes, the cost of open market operations is expected to fall, improving the Bank’s financial position. With the cedi stabilizing, exchange rate fluctuations and revaluation effects on the Bank’s balance sheet are expected to moderate. The transition to GANRAP will also help reduce the cost of reserve accumulation. While the financial costs of macroeconomic policies appear on the Bank’s books, the economic benefits are reflected in national macroeconomic outcomes,” the Bank explained.
For 2025, the BoG reported an operating loss of GH¢15.63 billion and an Other Comprehensive Income (OCI) loss of GH¢19.32 billion. The operating loss was mainly due to the cost of open market operations to absorb excess cedi liquidity and the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme used to build reserves. The OCI loss reflected the impact of the cedi’s appreciation on the cedi-equivalent value of the Bank’s foreign-currency reserves. Negative equity rose from GH¢61.32 billion at the start of the year to GH¢96.28 billion at year-end.
Regarding outcomes, the BoG highlighted strong macroeconomic gains:
Inflation fell from 23.8% at end-2024 to 5.4% by end-2025 and 3.2% by March 2026.
The cedi appreciated by 40.7% against the US dollar.
Gross International Reserves rose from US$9.11 billion to US$13.83 billion.
Public debt declined from 61.8% to 45.3% of GDP.
Real private sector credit growth recovered from negative levels in 2024 to 13.1% in December 2025, reaching 19.93% by March 2026.
“The financial costs appear on the Bank’s balance sheet, but the benefits—lower inflation, a stronger currency, and improved credit conditions—are reflected in the broader economy,” the Bank concluded.