Bank of Ghana Reports 73.4% Surge in Secured Credit to GH¢31.5 Billion for Q2 2026

The Bank of Ghana’s Second Quarter 2026 Brief on the Collateral Registry has revealed a significant expansion in the country's lending landscape, with the total value of secured credit reaching GH¢31.5 billion. This figure represents a substantial 73.4% year-on-year increase from the GH¢18.2 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2025. This growth in credit value was also evident on a quarterly basis, with a 57.5% rise from the first quarter of 2026, signaling a robust appetite for collateralized lending within the Ghanaian financial sector.

Commercial banks remained the primary drivers of this activity, accounting for GH¢19.9 billion or 63.1% of the total secured credit advanced. Within the banking sector, foreign-controlled institutions maintained their market dominance, contributing GH¢14.1 billion to the total—a 19.3% increase over the previous year. However, indigenous banks showed the most aggressive growth, with their registered credit surging by 112.4% to reach GH¢5.7 billion. Other lenders, including non-bank financial institutions, contributed a further GH¢8.3 billion, representing 26.3% of the total secured credit market.

In a notable divergence, while the total value of credit rose, the actual volume of security interest registrations saw a sharp decline. Registrations dropped by 32.2%, falling from 135,721 in Q2 2025 to 92,033 in Q2 2026. This downward trend was largely attributed to a 42.4% reduction in registrations by Savings and Loans Institutions. The contrast between falling registration numbers and rising credit values suggests a shift toward higher-value loan facilities, primarily facilitated by the banking sector rather than smaller-scale microfinance or savings institutions.

Despite the drop in registration volumes, there is evidence of deepening institutional professionalism regarding credit risk. Search activity on the Collateral Registry Application System (CRAS) increased by 13.9% year-on-year and 8.7% compared to the first quarter of 2026. This uptick in searches, which rose to 19,518 for the quarter, indicates that lenders are increasingly utilizing the registry for due diligence to verify existing charges on assets before granting new credit. Savings and Loans Institutions were the most frequent users of the search function, underscoring a heightened focus on risk mitigation and credit quality within the industry.