The Bank of Ghana's open market operations (OMO) stock reached GHS 93.56 billion in 2025. This figure nearly tripled in a single year.
This large increase resulted from aggressive efforts by the central bank. The goal was to remove money from the economy to control inflation and stabilize the national currency, the cedi. This approach has successfully brought down inflation and improved Ghana's foreign currency reserves.
However, this policy has created a substantial financial cost for the Bank of Ghana. OMO liabilities are growing, closely linked to the fallout from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP). The DDEP caused a GHS 35.67 billion loss for the central bank. Parliament has not yet approved the write-off for this loss three years later. This lack of approval adds a significant problem for the Bank of Ghana.
These financial burdens will likely weigh on the Bank of Ghana’s finances through 2026 and 2027. Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, oversees these operations. The central bank faces a challenge: balancing successful economic stabilization with rising internal costs. The money management operations that helped reduce inflation also increased the bank’s debt and operating expenses.
Open market operations are now the main tool for managing extra money in the banking system. The central bank sells short-term securities to banks. This removes surplus funds and helps align market interest rates with the central bank’s policy rate. Unlike reserve requirements, which do not earn interest, OMO instruments force the Bank of Ghana to pay interest. This creates a regular expense that grows as more money is removed from the system. With OMO liabilities now at GHS 93.56 billion, these costs are very significant.
The central bank’s financial health is under pressure. The reliance on OMO and its increasing costs are persistent issues. One-time revenues in the future will not be enough to fix this problem. This situation raises important questions about whether the current policy approach can last over time. Market observers note the core issue is not whether to manage liquidity, but how to do it efficiently. The current system, heavily dependent on OMOs, has effectively achieved price stability. But this success comes with a high and growing financial price.
Policymakers must find ways to manage liquidity more cost-effectively to maintain stability without overburdening the central bank. The sustainability of this high-cost strategy will be a key area of focus for financial analysts. Investors will also monitor how the Bank of Ghana manages these increasing expenses. Future economic policies will need to address this structural cost burden to ensure long-term financial health.