The Member of Parliament for Bekwai Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Ralph Poku Adusei, has challenged the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) reported financial losses for 2025, describing the central bank’s accounting approach as “misleading” and warning of potential national consequences if not addressed.

According to the MP in an interview on May 3, 2026, the BoG’s declared loss of about GH¢15.6 billion significantly understates the true financial position of the bank. He argued that a more comprehensive assessment of the figures suggests the actual losses could be as high as GH¢44 billion.

“It’s a bad practice, it’s unprecedented and the country stands to suffer greatly if due care is not taken,” he said.

He has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of shaping public perception through what he described as a preemptive and misleading presentation of the figures.

Adusei explained that the discrepancy arises from what he called a “piecemeal approach” in the BoG’s reporting.

He contended that the central bank failed to consolidate key components of its losses, instead presenting them separately to arrive at a lower overall figure.

“When you go through it clinically and analyze it, you realize they are using new or non-existent methods to arrive at that figure,” he stated. 

“If you apply the traditional way of assessing the bank’s losses, you will realize it is actually about GH¢44 billion not the GH¢15 or GH¢16 billion being reported.”

He specifically pointed to losses related to gold transactions, including funds lent to a gold board, which he insists should be fully incorporated into the total loss calculation.

“They claim the GH¢9 billion is a debt or loss from gold transactions. In actual sense, it is a loss, not a gain. So why exclude it when computing the total losses?” he questioned.

The MP maintained that when these components are aggregated including what he described as GH¢34 billion in reported losses and additional losses from gold dealings, the figure rises to approximately GH¢44 billion.

“The fact of the matter is that this analysis establishes the actual losses incurred in 2025 as GH¢44 billion,” he stressed.

Background

The Bank of Ghana, in its 2025 Annual Report and Financial Statements released on Friday, May 1, 2026, recorded an operating loss of GH¢15.6 billion. This represents an increase from the GH¢9.48 billion loss reported in 2024 and extends a streak of losses over the past four years, following GH¢60.9 billion in 2022 and GH¢10.5 billion in 2023.

The central bank attributed the 2025 loss largely to the cost of maintaining a tight monetary policy stance. Despite this, total operating income rose to GH¢22.23 billion, supported by improved reserve management returns, higher fee income, and proceeds from bullion gold sales.

However, rising expenditures offset these gains. Spending on Open Market Operations (OMOs) surged to GH¢16.73 billion in 2025, nearly doubling from GH¢8.59 billion in 2024, driven by intensified liquidity management efforts and increased interest payments to commercial banks.

The BoG also recorded substantial market-related losses, including GH¢9.05 billion from gold transactions and GH¢5.47 billion from foreign exchange revaluation and exchange rate movements.

Despite these challenges, the central bank reported a positive policy solvency margin of GH¢5.5 billion, indicating that its core operations remain capable of supporting its liquidity management functions.

The conflicting interpretations of the BoG’s financial position are likely to intensify debate over transparency and fiscal accountability in the management of Ghana’s monetary system.