Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr. Johnson Asiama, has reaffirmed his commitment to driving lending rates down to 10 percent before the end of his tenure — a target he describes as critical to stimulating stronger private-sector growth.

Speaking to journalists after the 127th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, Dr. Asiama acknowledged that borrowing costs remain elevated but highlighted what he called “undeniable progress” over the past year. Average lending rates have fallen significantly from about 32 percent to roughly 21 percent.

“I’ve said before that I want to see average lending rates at 10% by the end of my tenure, and I still stand by that. We are doing everything we can to make sure we achieve it,” he said.

While describing the current average lending rate of 21–22 percent as encouraging, he stressed that more work is needed to bring rates down further to support faster private-sector expansion. “It may not be exactly what we intended by this time, but a lot of progress has been made,” he noted.

Dr. Asiama added that as Treasury bill yields continue to decline, commercial banks will have greater incentive to increase lending, which should contribute to even sharper reductions in interest rates.

Figures from the Bank of Ghana’s November 2025 Summary of Economic and Financial Data show that the average lending rate dropped to 22.22 percent in October, down from 30.07 percent in January — a decline of more than seven percentage points.

Month-by-month, the data reflects steady improvement:


  • 30.12% in February


  • 29.18% in March


  • 27.40% in April


  • 26.90% in May


  • A slight uptick to 27.00% in June


  • Continuous declines thereafter

The Ghana Reference Rate (GRR) has also seen a dramatic fall, sliding from 29.72 percent in January to 17.86 percent in October 2025, signalling improved liquidity and easing money market conditions.

Despite the overall decline, Dr. Asiama noted significant variations in lending costs across banks. While some lenders price loans close to the GRR, others charge rates of up to 39 percent, depending on perceived borrower risk.

He stressed that narrowing these disparities and pushing down general credit costs remain central to sustaining Ghana’s economic recovery.

“It is one of the things I want to be judged by at the end of my tenure: seeing lending rates as low as they can be,” he said. “Lower rates mean stronger businesses, more jobs, and faster economic growth.”