IMF executive board completes 6th review of Ghana’s arrangement under the extended credit facility

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…concludes the 2026 Article IV Consultation and review request of a 36-month policy coordination instrument for Ghana

• The IMF Executive Board last week completed the sixth and final review of Ghana’s 39-month Arrangement under Extended Credit Facility (ECF), concluded the 2026 Article IV consultation, and reviewed the request of a 36-month Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI). Completion of the review allows for a final disbursement of SDR 265.9 million (about US$371 million).
• Ghana’s performance under the program has been broadly satisfactory. Since program approval, substantial gains have been achieved in macroeconomic stabilization and debt sustainability, with inflation falling sharply, reserves nearly doubling by 2025, the primary fiscal balance swinging to a surplus, and the risk of debt distress returning to moderate.
• Sustained implementation of the reform agenda under the new PCI will be essential to entrench macroeconomic stability and support inclusive, private sector-led growth, while creating space to address Ghana’s development needs consistent with debt sustainability.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week completed the sixth and final review of the US$3 billion, 39-month Arrangement under the ECF for Ghana, approved by the Board in May 2023. The Executive Board also concluded the 2026 Article IV consultation and reviewed —at the authorities’ request—a 36-month non-financing Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI).[1] The authorities have consented to the publication of the Staff Report prepared for this consultation.

In completing the review, the Executive Board approved a waiver of non-observance of the end-December 2025 performance criteria pertaining to the ceiling on Bank of Ghana (BoG) claims on the central government and public entities that was temporarily breached by a small margin due to cost-sharing arrangements under the domestic gold purchase program (DGPP). based on the temporary nature of deviation and corrective actions carried out by the authorities. Completion of this review allows for an immediate and final disbursement of about US$371 million (SDR 265.9 million), bringing Ghana’s total disbursements under the arrangement to about US$3 billion. The PCI will help anchor Ghana’s continued reform agenda beyond the ECF, signaling a credible commitment to upper-credit-tranche-quality policies and helping catalyze donor and market financing.

Ghana’s ECF-supported program has delivered substantial stabilization and debt-sustainability gains. Real GDP grew 6 percent in 2025—accelerating to 6.4 percent year-on-year in 2026Q1—driven by broad-based activity. Headline inflation fell to 5.4 percent at end-2025 and to 5.3 percent in June 2026, reflecting prudent monetary policy, cedi appreciation, and improved food supply. The current account posted a large surplus of 7.9 percent of GDP in 2025 supported by historically high gold prices, and gross international reserves nearly doubled to US$11.9 billion (4 months of imports) by end-2025. The primary fiscal balance improved to a surplus of 2.1 percent of GDP. Ghana’s risk of external and overall debt distress has been upgraded to moderate, two years earlier than expected at program approval, as all debt indicators are below their LIC-DSF thresholds.

The Ghanaian authorities have made significant progress on their comprehensive public debt restructuring. Debt relief agreements consistent with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) agreement have been signed with more than half of bilateral creditors, and agreements-in-principle have been reached with a similar share of external commercial creditors. Good-faith engagement with the remaining external commercial creditors is ongoing with a restructuring consistent with program parameters and comparability of treatment. In light of this progress and continued stabilization gains, Ghana’s debt risk rating has been upgraded to moderate.

The 2026 budget targets a primary surplus of 1.5 percent of GDP, consistent with program objectives and Ghana’s new fiscal responsibility framework. Recent improvements in the debt trajectory have created carefully calibrated fiscal space under the PCI. This space will help Ghana address pressing development needs and strengthen social spending, while preserving attainment of Ghana’s 45 percent of GDP debt anchor by 2034. Lowering the primary surplus to 0.5 percent of GDP from 2027 would remain consistent with safeguarding debt sustainability, provided that further progress is made in strengthening domestic revenue mobilization, improving public financial management and investment management, and enhancing state-owned enterprise oversight—particularly in the energy and cocoa sectors.

The Bank of Ghana has cautiously eased its monetary policy stance as inflation has fallen within its target range. In collaboration with Fund staff, the BoG has operationalized a foreign exchange operations framework to help intermediate foreign exchange flows, smooth excessive market volatility, and support continued reserve accumulation. Safeguarding central bank independence remains critical to sustaining monetary policy credibility, including by implementing the transfer of the DGPP to GoldBod, permanently discontinuing quasi-fiscal activities, and fulfilling the commitment to recapitalize the BoG by 2032.

Financial sector resilience has continued to improve, but vulnerabilities persist, particularly in some state-owned and private banks and among specialized deposit-taking institutions. Sustained supervisory action, decisive corrective measures, and the finalization of the crisis management and resolution framework are essential to safeguard financial stability and support a durable recovery in credit intermediation. Governance and anti-corruption reforms have also advanced, including through the submission to parliament of the revised Conduct of Public Officials bill. Timely and effective implementation of the reformed asset-declaration framework will be critical to strengthen transparency, accountability, and public trust.

Following the executive board discussion on Ghana, deputy managing director Bo Li said Ghana’s performance under its ECF-supported program has been broadly satisfactory.

In a statement made available to Realnews, Li said: “The authorities’ sustained reform efforts—combined with favorable commodity-price developments—have delivered substantial macroeconomic stabilization and debt sustainability gains. Inflation has fallen sharply, international reserves have been rebuilt beyond program targets, and the primary fiscal balance has swung from a large deficit to a surplus. The comprehensive debt restructuring is largely complete, and Ghana’s risk of debt distress has returned to moderate. Going forward, sustained reform implementation under the new Policy Coordination Instrument is essential to consolidate these gains and address remaining vulnerabilities.”

According to him, “maintaining fiscal discipline remains a key priority in addressing Ghana’s pressing development, social, and security needs, while safeguarding debt sustainability consistent with Ghana’s debt anchor. To this end, it is paramount to further strengthen domestic revenue mobilization, improve public financial and investment management, and enhance state-owned enterprise oversight, particularly in the energy and cocoa sectors, while strengthening social protection for the most vulnerable.”

The Bank of Ghana, he said, has successfully anchored disinflation and rebuilt external buffers, while cautiously easing its policy stance. “Looking ahead, preserving monetary policy credibility will hinge squarely on safeguarding central bank independence, fully implementing the transfer of the domestic gold purchase program to GoldBod, permanently discontinuing quasi-fiscal activities, and delivering on the recapitalization plan.

“While financial sector resilience has improved, vulnerabilities persist, particularly in some state-owned and private banks and specialized deposit-taking institutions. Looking ahead, safeguarding financial stability warrants decisive corrective measures, robust supervision, and finalization of the crisis management and resolution framework. Sustained progress on governance—including timely enactment of the reformed Conduct of Public Officials bill—will further bolster transparency, accountability, and public trust.”            

Ghana: Selected Economic and Financial Indicators, 2024–31

A.I

July 28, 2026

Tags: IMF

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