Bank of Ghana says credit to Ghana’s public sector declined sharply in 2025, reflecting a slowdown in government borrowing and activity during the year.
According to the Bank’s January 2026 Monetary Policy Report, credit extended to the public sector contracted by 25.5 percent to GH¢4.8 billion by the end of December 2025.
Meanwhile, credit to the private sector—which includes loans to businesses and households—continued to grow, although at a slower pace compared to the previous year. Private sector credit rose by 19.2 percent to GH¢106.2 billion in December 2025, down from the stronger 26.3 percent growth recorded in 2024.
Despite the nominal increase, the central bank noted that real private sector credit actually declined in 2025 when adjusted for inflation, indicating weaker lending momentum in real economic terms.
The report also showed that the total stock of gross loans and advances in the banking sector increased by 16.2 percent to GH¢111.0 billion by December 2025. This was lower than the 24.1 percent growth recorded during the same period in 2024.
Services Sector Remains Top Credit Recipient
In terms of sectoral distribution, the services sector remained the largest recipient of credit from the banking industry. By the end of December 2025, it accounted for 37.1 percent of total credit, up from 31.7 percent a year earlier.
The commerce and finance sector followed with a share of 24.3 percent, although this represented a decline from the 27.0 percent recorded in December 2024.
Credit allocation to the manufacturing sector increased slightly to 10.7 percent, compared with 10.5 percent in the previous year.
Together, the services, commerce and finance, and manufacturing sectors accounted for 72.1 percent of total credit in December 2025, up from 69.3 percent recorded in December 2024.
At the lower end of the credit distribution was the electricity, water and gas sector, which received just 3.0 percent of total industry credit in December 2025, down from 4.1 percent in the previous year