Bad loans shoot up to GHS6.33bn

Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) contracted further by 4.5% to record GHS6.33 billion in February 2020, according to the latest Banking Sector Report.

This follows a decline of 14.4% a year earlier.

The positive effect of the decline in the stock of NPLs on the NPL ratio, the report pointed out was underpinned by the rebound in gross credit.

This resulted in a decline in the NPL ratio to 13.8% February 2020 from 18.2% in February 2019.

Consequently, the industry’s NPL ratio adjusted for fully provisioned loan loss category also declined from 9.4% to 5.2%.

According to the report, the distribution of NPLs among borrower groups reflected both the share of credits and the risk dynamics of these groups.

Accordingly, the higher share of private sector loans translated to a larger share of NPLs due to the generally higher risk profile of the private sector. This also reflected in the sub-components of the private sector.

Notably, NPLs of indigenous enterprises accounted for almost three-quarters of total NPLs although banks halved credit to this segment due to their relatively higher credit risk.

Foreign enterprises, households or individuals, and government accounted for relatively lower respective shares of 9.2%, 7.9%, and 2.7% due to their lower credit allocation and better credit risk profiles.

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