The Bank of Ghana has revealed a significant increase in loan data submissions to credit bureaux, with an average of 21.2 million loan records submitted monthly in 2023, representing a dramatic 455% rise compared to the 3.8 million records submitted monthly in 2022.
This information was highlighted in the Central Bank’s 2023 Annual Credit Activity Report.
The report indicates that 99% of the submissions involved individual borrowers, reflecting a growing focus on consumer lending. The rise is largely attributed to improved reporting of digital loan data.
Savings and loan companies, along with finance houses, took the lead in submitting individual loan data, surpassing both banks and microfinance institutions.
However, banks maintained dominance in business loan submissions, accounting for 67.6% of business-related data.
Although rural banks and microfinance institutions increased their individual loan submissions, they reported a decline in business loan data, signaling a shift towards payroll and digital lending rather than traditional business financing.
In response to the persistent issue of dud cheques, the Bank of Ghana has intensified public education campaigns to raise awareness about the consequences of issuing dishonoured cheques, which can severely impact borrowers’ creditworthiness.
Penalties include being barred from accessing credit or issuing cheques for up to three years.
