Ghana’s banking sector ended 2025 with sharply contrasting levels of credit risk, as some lenders maintained relatively healthy loan portfolios while others continued to struggle with high volumes of non-performing loans (NPLs).

UBA Ghana recorded the lowest NPL ratio among the banks highlighted, at 2.1% at the end of 2025, followed by Fidelity Bank Ghana at approximately 6.1% and Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana at 7.1%.

Zenith Bank Ghana and Access Bank Ghana also reported ratios below 10%, ending the year at 8.5% and 9.2%, respectively.

The figures, published in the Ghana Association of Banks’ Consolidated Banks’ Audited Financial Statements for 2025, point to significant differences in lenders’ ability to maintain loan quality and manage credit risks.

While some banks recorded relatively low levels of impaired credit, others continued to carry substantial problem loans, raising questions about the pace and sustainability of asset-quality recovery across the industry.

Sharp increases expose emerging credit risks

The relatively low NPL ratios at some banks do not necessarily indicate that their credit risks are declining.

Access Bank Ghana, for instance, recorded a significant increase in its NPL ratio, from 2.1% in 2024 to 9.2% in 2025.

Zenith Bank Ghana’s ratio rose from 1.0% to 8.5%, while GT Bank Ghana recorded an increase from 2.4% to 7.1%.

These movements suggest that, despite their comparatively favourable positions at the end of 2025, the banks experienced growing pressure on their loan portfolios during the year.

The trend highlights the importance of examining changes in NPL ratios alongside their actual levels. A bank may maintain a lower ratio than its competitors while experiencing a deterioration in borrowers’ repayment performance.

Early identification of such pressures is essential to limit further deterioration, strengthen loan monitoring and reduce the potential cost of future defaults.

However, the experience was not uniform across the sector. CalBank recorded a substantial improvement, reducing its NPL ratio from 47.5% in 2024 to 17.0% in 2025.

Prudential Bank also lowered its ratio from 74.0% to 57.0%.

Although the declines represent progress in reducing the proportion of non-performing loans, both institutions continued to report high ratios relative to banks with stronger asset-quality positions.

ADB and NIB face the heaviest loan burdens

Agricultural Development Bank and National Investment Bank remained among the most exposed institutions, with NPL ratios of 70.5% and 69.7%, respectively, at the end of 2025.

ADB improved from 75.3% in 2024, while NIB reduced its ratio from 75.5%. Nevertheless, the figures indicate that non-performing loans continued to account for a substantial share of their respective loan portfolios.

Universal Merchant Bank also reported a high NPL ratio of 52.3%, although this represented an improvement from 54.9% a year earlier.

Elsewhere, Consolidated Bank Ghana recorded a marked deterioration, with its NPL ratio increasing from 12.5% to 33.4%.

Stanbic Bank Ghana’s ratio also rose, from 17.1% in 2024 to 24.6% in 2025.

The contrasting results suggest that while some banks are making progress in addressing impaired credit, others continue to face significant recovery challenges or emerging repayment difficulties.

Elevated NPL ratios can undermine banks’ financial performance by increasing impairment expenses and reducing the income generated from lending activities. They can also constrain capital available for new lending and weaken the capacity of financial institutions to support businesses and households.

Nevertheless, the implications differ across institutions depending on their capital buffers, liquidity positions, provisions for expected credit losses and the availability of collateral to recover outstanding debts.

Delayed salary deductions create additional uncertainty

The banking sector’s asset-quality challenges come as the Ghana Association of Banks raises concerns about delays in transferring salary deductions made from public sector workers for loan repayments.

The association’s Chief Executive Officer, John Awuah, has indicated that banks could suspend new loans to public sector workers in the coming weeks if outstanding remittances are not resolved.

The issue concerns funds deducted from workers’ salaries but not promptly transferred to the financial institutions entitled to receive them.

For lenders relying on salary deductions as a repayment mechanism, delays can disrupt expected cash flows and complicate loan administration. Where the situation persists, it may also increase the risk of repayment arrears and deterioration in credit quality.

Any suspension of new lending could have consequences for public sector employees who depend on salary-backed loans to finance personal commitments, household expenditure and other needs.

Resolving the problem would require effective coordination between the relevant government institutions, employers and banks to ensure that deductions are remitted within the required timeframes.

The development also highlights the importance of strengthening repayment controls and ensuring that established loan-recovery arrangements operate as intended.

Credit recovery remains a key priority

The 2025 data demonstrate that Ghana’s banking sector cannot be assessed through industry-wide averages alone. Individual banks are entering 2026 with significantly different levels of credit exposure and varying progress in resolving impaired loans.

Institutions with low NPL ratios must remain alert to rising repayment difficulties, while those with elevated ratios face the additional task of recovering problem loans and rebuilding the strength of their balance sheets.

For the wider financial system, sustained improvements in asset quality will depend on prudent lending, effective borrower assessment, timely loan repayments and stronger recovery mechanisms.

The figures therefore present a mixed picture: progress is evident at some institutions, but substantial credit risks remain at others. How banks manage these differences will be important to their profitability, lending capacity and overall financial resilience in 2026.