High interest rates killing businesses - BoG Governor laments

Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama has raised concern over Ghana's crippling interest rate environment, questioning how any business could survive borrowing money at such high interest rates.

He pledged that the central bank's current focus is to bring those rates down.

Speaking in a video shared by The1957News on X on April 5, 2026, the Governor linked Ghana's widespread unemployment directly to the poor flow of credit to the private sector.

"If a business borrows money at above 30%, how do you expect that business to repay? Interest rates are 30%, what are you going to use the money for?" he questioned.

Asiama revealed that peer countries like Kenya direct about 30% of GDP in bank credit to the private sector, Ghana sits at just 8%, the lowest among its regional peers.

"It's not surprising there's a lot of unemployment. It's not surprising the private sector is still really under pressure," he said.

On the health of the banking sector, Dr Asiama said significant progress had been made in resolving legacy capital deficiencies, with only two banks still requiring support, both expected to fully recover within two months.

He said once the banking system is firmly back on its feet, the focus turns to expanding credit access, adding that the central bank is currently rolling out a series of guidelines and exposure frameworks designed to strengthen banks so they can lend more and lend cheaper.

"Stability is good, but people are hungry. There's unemployment everywhere. So, the next step now is to strengthen the markets.

"Our focus currently is to engineer a low interest environment and a stable exchange environment," he said.

Watch the video below:

If a business borrows money above 30% interest rate, how do you expect that business to repay - BoG Governor, Johnson Asiama quizzes.

He linked the unemployment crisis to the performance of banks, revealing that the central bank is focused on stabilising the banking sector to… pic.twitter.com/MpC7HNqEQH

— The1957News (@The1957News) April 5, 2026