Banking consultant Dr. Richmond Atuahene has expressed optimism about the Bank of Ghana's (BoG) ability to recover from the significant losses it recorded during the 2024 financial year.

According to Dr. Atuahene, although the Central Bank's current structure presents vulnerabilities, the policies and reforms being implemented could help it return to profitability within the next two to three years.

The Bank of Ghana reported an operating loss of GH¢9.49 billion for 2024. This was primarily due to high operational costs and efforts to stabilise the economy.

“The losses from Open Market Operations (OMO), I do understand,” Dr. Atuahene told Citi Newsroom. “Until the Bank of Ghana is restructured, it will continue to experience such losses—especially now that it holds no bonds and is required to maintain zero financing to the government. Recovery is unlikely next year; it will take at least two or three years.”

The BoG's total operating income for 2024 was GH¢9.40 billion, but this was significantly outweighed by operating expenses totaling GH¢18.89 billion, resulting in the large deficit.

Key contributors to the loss included:

GH¢8.60 billion spent on managing excess liquidity and tightening monetary policy through open market operations.

GH¢3.49 billion in foreign exchange (FX) revaluation and exchange losses, with GH¢1.82 billion of that linked to the government’s Gold-for-Oil Programme.

Despite the challenging year, the BoG reported a GH¢4.02 billion improvement in its equity position, although it still ended the year with a negative equity of GH¢61.32 billion.

Dr. Atuahene believes that with continued fiscal discipline and structural reforms, the Central Bank can stabilize and eventually return to profitability.