Ghana’s central bank has imposed severe new penalties for deliberate loan defaults, including a five-year ban from accessing credit.
The Bank of Ghana announced the crackdown to tackle rising bad loans threatening financial stability.
Lenders must now publish names of “willful defaulters” twice yearly in national papers and online. What counts as willful default? Borrowers who misuse funds, submit fake documents, or refuse repayment despite having means face sanctions. Company directors involved in fraud face identical bans.
Once a loan is written off, defaulters get barred from new credit for twice the gap between write-off and settlement. Repeat offenders automatically face five-year exclusions. Borrowers can only return after repaying all debts and proving reliability to lenders.
Simultaneously, the Bank of Ghana set a 10% cap on bad loans for banks by end-2026. Microfinance firms keep their 5% limit. Institutions breaking these thresholds lose dividend, bonus, and loan expansion rights until fixed. The central bank insists these steps will strengthen Ghana’s banking resilience.
Source: newsghana.com.gh
