Dr. Kwasi Nyame-Baafi, a director of the Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP)
Dr. Kwasi Nyame-Baafi, a director at the Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP), Dr. Kwasi Nyame-Baafi has issued a scathing assessment of the Bank of Ghana’s 2025 financial statements. In a Facebook post reacting to the Bank’s latest accounts, he alleges the central bank’s apparent “policy solvency” is being artificially sustained through the sale of national gold reserves.
Dr. Nyame-Baafi argued that Ghana’s monetary authorities are masking deep structural weaknesses with what he described as “an accounting trick”. He cautioned that without income from gold sales, the central bank would be policy insolvent.
“If the central bank can only ‘fund’ monetary policy by selling national gold, then Ghana does not have a stabilisation strategy but rather an accounting trick,” he wrote. “Take out the income from gold sale and the Bank of Ghana moves from policy solvent to policy insolvent. Clearly, a reversal of the gains in 2024.”
Losses deepen as balance sheet deteriorates
The IERPP Director pointed to worsening headline figures in the Bank’s 2025 accounts, noting that losses widened significantly to GH¢15.63 billion, up from GH¢9.49 billion in 2024. He highlighted a sharp escalation in Open Market Operations (OMO) costs, which surged to GH¢16.73 billion from GH¢8.60 billion the previous year, describing the trend as evidence of mounting pressure on the Bank’s policy framework.
According to him, the Bank’s negative equity position also deteriorated markedly, deepening from GH¢58.62 billion in 2024 to GH¢93.82 billion in 2025, raising concerns about institutional credibility and long-term independence.
“These are costs Ghana will pay, through credit conditions and inflation expectations,” he stated, adding that the figures point to “an institution drifting from stewardship into politics.”
‘Reversal of gains’ and valuation shock
Dr. Nyame-Baafi further drew attention to what he described as a dramatic reversal in the Bank’s financial position, citing a swing in revaluation accounts from a gain of GH¢10.51 billion in 2024 to losses of GH¢23.62 billion in 2025.
“That is a swing of roughly GH¢34.1 billion in a single year,” he noted. “This cannot be explained away as cost of stabilisation. The recovery story of 2024 did not continue into 2025; it reversed violently and dragged the balance sheet down with it.”
He argued that such a shift underscores deeper vulnerabilities in the Bank’s operations and risk management practices, rather than routine policy costs.
Rising sterilisation costs
A central plank of his critique focused on the rapid increase in OMO or sterilisation costs, which he described as “not just a cost line, but a reflection of loss of policy credibility.”
He attributed the spike partly to the abandonment of earlier cost-saving measures, including the dynamic Cash Reserve Ratio, and suggested that the Bank is now paying a premium to manage liquidity conditions.
“This premium is avoidable,” he asserted, “but has become the price for credibility lost and the new habit of treating monetary policy as pleasing politicians rather than rules-based stabilisation.”
Gold sales under scrutiny
Dr. Nyame-Baafi alleged that the Bank’s reliance on gold sales to shore up its financial position raises serious governance and transparency concerns. He claimed that income booked from gold transactions is being used to offset underlying inefficiencies.
“Their fallback plan is to sell gold, book income, and hope the public does not ask questions,” he wrote, describing the development as “the highest scandal ever perpetuated by the managers of Bank of Ghana.”
He called for a full disclosure of the economics behind the gold programme, including pricing structures, net contributions, and governance arrangements.
Transparency and reform
The IERPP director proposed a series of reforms aimed at restoring credibility and strengthening institutional discipline at the central bank. These include the publication of a quarterly “policy-solvency path,” stricter controls on OMO costs, transparent reporting of valuation swings, and a clear, time-bound recapitalisation plan to address the Bank’s negative equity.
He stressed that the current situation is not merely technical but institutional, warning that prolonged opacity could erode public trust in the country’s monetary authority.
“A central bank that reverses a year of gains into a GH¢34.1 billion valuation loss has not stabilised,” he concluded. “Ghanaians should not accept the narrative of cost of stabilisation. Selling gold reserves to avoid policy insolvency is a scandal which must be investigated along non-partisan lines.”
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