IMF Board completes fifth review of Ghana credit facility and allows immediate disbursement of $385m

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board has announced the completion of the fifth review under its Extended Credit Facility Arrangement with Ghana, allowing immediate disbursement of about $385 million.

In May 2023, Ghana signed a $3 billion, 39-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement with the IMF. The completion of this review which allows for the immediate disbursement of the about $385 million brings Ghana’s total disbursements under the arrangement to about $2.8 billion.

The IMF says in a press statement issued yesterday December 17, 2025 that Ghana’s performance under the programme has been broadly satisfactory, despite some delays in implementing complex structural reforms.

According to the IMF, macroeconomic stabilization is gaining momentum, with strong growth and single-digit inflation for the first time since 2021.

“The fiscal and external positions have improved, and good progress has been made on debt restructuring. These gains reflect the authorities’ strong program ownership, favorable external developments, and improved investor confidence.

Steadfast implementation of the policy and reform agenda remains essential to fully restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability,” it said.

It further indicates that Ghana’s IMF-supported reforms are yielding results after last year’s policy slippages, stating that growth through September 2025 exceeded expectations, driven by strong services and agriculture.

It notes that inflation is now within the Bank of Ghana’s target range, and the external sector strengthened on robust gold and cocoa exports, while reserves accumulation surpassed ECF targets, the cedi appreciated, and Ghana’s debt trajectory improved significantly.

It adds that Ghana’s performance under the IMF-supported programme has been generally satisfactory, with all quantitative performance criteria and indicative targets for the fifth review having been met.

The statement admitted that notwithstanding some delays, good progress has also been made on the key structural reforms, including overdue measures from previous reviews.

The Ghanaian authorities, the IMF says have continued to make significant headways on their public debt restructuring.

“They have signed bilateral debt relief agreements with many members of Ghana’s Official Creditor Committee and finalized several Agreements in Principle with other external commercial creditors. The authorities have also intensified engagement with their remaining external commercial creditors on a restructuring consistent with programme parameters and comparability of treatment,” it said.

It notes that Ghana is on track to achieve a primary surplus of 1.5% of GDP by year-end.

According to the IMF, the 2026 budget, submitted to Parliament, aligns with fiscal programme objectives and the new fiscal responsibility framework, while accommodating developmental and security needs.

“This will be driven by revenue mobilization and expenditure rationalization, with safeguards for vulnerable groups. Sustaining fiscal discipline requires stronger revenue administration, improved public financial management, and better oversight of State-Owned Enterprises, which pose significant fiscal risks.

With inflation pressures subsiding and the recent appreciation of the cedi, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has appropriately begun a cautious monetary easing cycle. Any further easing should remain gradual and data dependent. In collaboration with the Fund staff, the BoG has developed and implemented a new structured foreign exchange operations framework to intermediate FX flows and smooth excessive market volatility, while accumulating international reserves,” the statement added.

The IMF indicated that the authorities have taken decisive steps to safeguard financial stability, including by implementing the strategy to restructure and reform state-owned banks, closing gaps in the crisis management and resolution framework, and pursuing a multi-pronged approach to reduce non-performing loans.

“The Bank of Ghana has successfully brought inflation within its target range and rebuilt international reserve buffers, while cautiously easing the monetary policy stance. Looking ahead, strengthening central bank independence, discontinuing quasi-fiscal activities, and deepening FX markets, while reducing the Bank of Ghana’s footprint, remain priorities.

“The authorities have made progress in bolstering financial stability by continuing to implement banks’ recapitalization plans and initiating the recapitalization of key state-owned banks. However, vulnerabilities persist. To address these challenges sustainably, it is critical to strengthen governance in state-owned banks, fully leverage the bank resolution framework, develop contingency plans for banks that fail to recapitalize, ensure cost-effective resolution of legacy issues, and implement robust supervisory strategies to enhance credit and operational risk management.

“The publication of the IMF Governance Diagnostic Assessment is most welcome, but more is needed to strengthen anti-corruption frameworks and bolster governance and public trust, including by fully aligning Ghana’s asset declaration to best practices,” it said.

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