The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has said the loss it incurred in 2022, is largely due to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) and not mismanagement.
The Director of Research of BoG, Dr Phillip Abradu-Otoo, told journalists at a press conference in Accra yesterday said the BoG had to suffer haircut to keep the economy running.
The press conference was to explain the loss BoG incurred in 2022 which is captured in the 2022 Annual Report and Financial Statements of the BoG.
The 2022 Annual Report and Financial Statements of the BoG stated that the bank incurred about GH¢55.12 billion partly due to the DDEP.
The report also said the BoG spent about GH¢131 million on vehicle maintenance.
He said the BoG took 50 per cent haircut to help the country seal the IMF deal quickly and send signals to Ghana’s bilateral creditors to support the country’s move to overcome its debt challenges.
“The BoG has been the shock absorber of the DDEP and suffered the biggest hit,” he said.
In spite of the loss, Dr Abradu-Otoo said the BoG was still solvent.
The Director of Research explained that the BoG would continue to pursue policies to restore equity of the bank to the positive territories by 2027, and tame inflation to ensure strong macroeconomic stability.
He said it would take about four years to restore equity to normal levels.
Touching on the amount spent on vehicle maintenance in 2022, Dr Abradu-Otoo said the cost was influenced by fuel.
According to him, fuel cost constituted about 94 per cent (GH¢123.14 million) out of the GH¢131 million spent on vehicle maintenance.
An Advisor at the Bank of Ghana, Stephen Opata, said the bank was building strong reserves.
He said between January and July this year the BoG built additional reserves of GH¢1 Billion.
Mr Opata said the bank would continue to build reserves to meet its obligations to international creditors.
He said the Gold Purchase Programmes and other policies being implemented by the bank would help build reserves of the bank.
He said the BoG was not financing government this and the coming years as part of the International Monetary Fund programme, adding that it would go a long way to help the BoG build more reserves.
The advisor stressed that the BoG had more reserves to meet is international obligations, stressing that the bank did not owe any domestic creditor.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE