Banks insist lending expanding as rate stays at 14%
Chief of Ghana Bankers Association John Awuah says banks are lending more cheaply after the Monetary Policy Committee kept rates at 14% since March.
John Awuah, the chief executive of the Ghana Association of Banks, has defended the sector’s lending practices after the Bank of Ghana kept its monetary policy rate at 14% for several months. He argued that falling borrowing costs and a 29% rise in private sector credit show banks are responding to better monetary conditions.
Speaking at a Chartered Institute of Bankers Ghana event, Mr Awuah cited Bank of Ghana data that private sector credit grew by 29% in real terms year on year. He pointed out that while the policy rate remained at 14% from March to September, commercial lending rates fell from about 18% to roughly 15.9%, with new loans now priced between 9% and 12%.
