Total financial sector assets grew by 34% to GH₵525.59bn in 2024; banks accounted for 76%

 Total financial sector assets grew by 34.6% to GH₵525.59 billion in 2024 from GH₵390.17 billion (28.4%) recorded in 2023.

However, total financial sector assets constituted 45.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in December 2024, marginally down from 46.4% in December 2023.

According to the 2024 Financial Stability Review, the banking industry accounted for 76.4% of the sector’s total assets as at end-December 2024. This is compared to a share of 76.3% in 2023.

The pensions sector’s share improved to 16.4% in 2024, from 15.8% in 2023.

In contrast, the share of the securities and insurance industries’ assets to the sector’s total assets has been fairly stable over the past five years. In 2024, the share of the securities and insurance sectors’ assets stood at 3.8% and 3.4% compared to 4.0% and 3.9%, respectively, in 2023.

Meanwhile, the banks’ exposure to the financial system is heavily tilted towards the securities industry. Total exposure of banks to other financial institutions was approximately GH₵286 million at end-December 2024, an increase from GH₵201.91 million recorded at end-December 2023.

The exposures of banks to other financial institutions were in the form of loans and placements. As of end-December 2024, the exposure of banks to securities institutions, insurance companies and pensions institutions was GH₵272.73 million, GH₵10.38 million and GH₵2.90 million respectively.

The distribution of banks’ exposure suggests that distress in the securities industry will have the most adverse impact on banks.