BoG Has Confirmed Our GH¢34.9bn Loss Claim –KON, But Central Bank Denies Claim

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, says the Bank of Ghana has effectively confirmed the Minority Caucus’ claim that the central bank recorded a total comprehensive loss of about GH¢34.9 billion in 2025.

According to him, the Bank’s latest explanatory document validates the Minority’s earlier position that the true financial impact on the central bank went beyond the GH¢15.63 billion operating loss publicly highlighted by government communicators and Majority members. But the Bank of Ghana has, in a sharp reaction, dismissed claims that it suffered a “GH¢34.9 billion loss” in operational terms, insisting that the figure wrongly combines its GH¢15.63 billion operating loss with a GH¢19.32 billion Other Comprehensive Income (OCI) adjustment.

In a statement following days of political debate over the Bank’s 2025 financial statements, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah argued that the Bank itself had now acknowledged an additional GH¢19.32 billion recorded under Other Comprehensive Income (OCI), bringing the overall loss to approximately GH¢34.95 billion.

“The Government and its spin doctors are trying to convince the people of Ghana that the loss is GH¢15.6 billion. We regret to tell Ghanaians that this is not true,” he stated during a press conference in Parliament earlier this week.

The Minority had earlier accused the government and Majority Caucus of deliberately downplaying the extent of the central bank’s losses by focusing only on the operating deficit while ignoring the OCI component captured in the Bank’s audited financial statements.

Initially, government officials maintained that the GH¢15.6 billion operating loss was the relevant figure, arguing that the OCI losses were accounting adjustments resulting from the appreciation of the cedi and, therefore, should not be treated as direct operational losses.

However, in an explanatory note issued after the controversy erupted, the Bank confirmed that it recorded an operating loss of GH¢15.63 billion and an OCI loss of GH¢19.32 billion for the 2025 financial year.

The central bank explained that the operating loss was driven mainly by the cost of Open Market Operations (OMO) used to mop up excess liquidity as part of efforts to stabilise inflation and the cedi.

It also cited costs associated with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, particularly exchange rate differentials arising from gold purchases from artisanal miners.

On the OCI component, the Bank explained that the losses reflected exchange and revaluation losses on foreign reserve assets following the sharp appreciation of the cedi in 2025.

According to the Bank, the cedi appreciated from GH¢14.70 to the dollar in 2024 to GH¢10.45 in 2025, reducing the cedi value of foreign currency assets, gold reserves and Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).

“The OCI loss is a translation effect, not a depletion of reserves,” the Bank stated.

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah, however, insisted that the clarification vindicates the Minority’s argument that the overall financial damage to the institution approached GH¢35 billion.

The Minority also argued that gains from gold reserve sales helped soften the appearance of the losses. According to the caucus, the central bank recorded about GH¢9.57 billion in gains from gold sales during the period.

Despite the losses, the Bank of Ghana maintained that it remains “policy solvent” and capable of carrying out its core mandate.

The Bank further pointed to macroeconomic improvements in 2025, including inflation falling from 23.8 per cent to 5.4 per cent, the cedi appreciating by more than 40 per cent, and gross international reserves rising from US$9.11 billion to US$13.83 billion.

 

 

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