Bright Simons cautions BoG over heavy forex interventions

Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has expressed concerns about the approach adopted by the Bank of Ghana in managing the foreign exchange market, warning that too much intervention could create challenges over time.

His remarks come on the back of the central bank’s 2025 financial statements, which have sparked conversations about the effectiveness of its monetary policy stance.

Speaking on The Point of View on Channel One TV on Monday, May 4, 2026, he noted that the central bank’s strong intervention stance, including efforts to build reserves through gold purchases, may become difficult to sustain if it is not aligned with actual economic conditions.

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“If the real dynamics in the economy are such that you’re struggling to keep up, then you’re going to have this situation where you’re trying to buy so much gold because you need so much more dollars to intervene. You need some dollars to intervene, but what level of dollars do you need to intervene?” he questioned.

Simons further disclosed his engagement with the bank on the need to put up a more realistic and clearly defined level of intervention in the forex market.

“I have personally talked to the Bank of Ghana and asked them to model the right level of intervention that makes sense, knowing very well that it’s very difficult but there has to be an attempt because this thing where you say we have unlimited capacity to intervene in the foreign exchange market is not credible,” he said.

Bright Simons also acknowledged the bank’s responsibility to stabilise the currency and manage inflation, but suggested its current strategy may be too aggressive.

“The other thing I also think is critical is we shouldn’t completely excuse the monetary side because the monetary side has the duty to set the right and realistic levels for cedi value and for inflation.

"I genuinely believe that the Bank of Ghana has been somewhat too aggressive than the conditions warrant in its ability to paint a certain degree of stability in the currency. You have to have that mindset, but you also have to respond to real dynamics in the economy,” he said.

He warned that claims of unlimited intervention capacity could send the wrong signals to investors and market players.

“In other markets, this will signal that the Bank of Ghana is ripe for attack because it can’t have unlimited capacity to intervene in the foreign exchange market. Rather, we don’t know the policy guidance on that. Does it really have unlimited capacity or not?” he added.

He further urged the central bank to align its actions with prevailing economic realities, noting that the need for interventions are necessary and must be guided by clear limits and transparency to avoid undermining confidence in the system.

SO/AE

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