A growing debate has emerged among economists, financial analysts, and members of the public over the true extent of losses recorded by the Bank of Ghana for the 2025 financial year, following differing interpretations of figures contained in the Central Bank’s financial statements.
While some commentators initially claimed the Central Bank recorded losses amounting to GH¢44 billion, others later revised the figure to approximately GH¢34.9 billion or GH¢34.95 billion after examining the published financial data.
However, critics of that interpretation argue that the calculations are inconsistent with established accounting principles and the provisions of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612).
According to the argument, the GH¢34.95 billion figure was derived by adding the Bank’s reported operating loss of GH¢15.63 billion to an Other Comprehensive Income (OCI) loss of GH¢19.32 billion.
The critics insist that such an approach constitutes a misapplication of accounting standards, stressing that Section 7 of the Bank of Ghana Act relating to revaluation accounts prevents the OCI figure from being treated as part of operational losses.
They explained that the OCI loss reflected valuation effects arising from the appreciation of the Ghana cedi against foreign currencies, which affected the cedi-equivalent value of the Bank’s foreign reserve assets.
The debate further intensified after some analysts attempted to calculate losses by comparing the Central Bank’s negative equity positions for 2024 and 2025. According to the figures cited, the Bank’s negative equity reportedly increased from GH¢61.32 billion in 2024 to GH¢96.28 billion in 2025.
Supporters of the Central Bank argue that negative equity should not automatically be interpreted as insolvency or evidence of financial mismanagement. Instead, they describe it as a reflection of economic stabilization measures undertaken by the Bank to control inflation and stabilize the local currency.
They contend that the Bank of Ghana incurred significant liquidity management and policy costs in efforts to reduce inflation from 23.8 percent in December 2024 to 5.4 percent by December 2025, while also strengthening the cedi against major trading currencies.
According to this school of thought, the increase in negative equity represented accounting or book losses arising largely from deliberate policy interventions, including valuation adjustments and the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, rather than direct operational inefficiency.
The analysts further argued that the effectiveness of the Bank’s policy measures should be assessed against macroeconomic outcomes such as inflation reduction and exchange rate stability rather than solely on accounting figures.
They maintained that the official operating loss for the 2025 financial year remains GH¢15.63 billion as reported by the Bank’s external auditors, rejecting claims that the losses amounted to GH¢34.9 billion or GH¢44 billion.
The discussion continues to generate intense public interest as economists and financial experts weigh the implications of the Central Bank’s financial position on Ghana’s broader economic outlook.
