The average lend­ing rates of banks declined margin­ally to 30.45 percent in October 2024, the Bank of Ghana has disclosed.

This is from 32.69 percent recorded in the corresponding period of 2023.

The data from the Central Bank revealed that the average lending rates have fallen consis­tently but marginally since the beginning of the year.

The average lending rate began in January 2024 at 32.94 percent and took a nosedive in February and March 2024, respectively.

It stood at 32.77 percent in February 2024 and further dropped to 32.35 percent in March 2024. It again eased in April 2024 to 31.25 percent.

Subsequently, it went down slightly to 31.10 percent in June 2024 and then 30.71 percent in July 2024. It however went up marginally to 30.79 percent in August 2024.

The Ghana Reference Rate, however, stood at 28.91 per cent in October 2024, lower than the 29.31 percent in August 2024.

The Central Bank kept the policy rate unchanged at 29 percent in November 2024. It cited some slightly elevated inflation driven by high and unstable food prices, pass-through of previous exchange rate pressures, fuel pric­es and utility tariff adjustments.

The average lending rates, however, vary among the banks and the respective sectors they lend to.

Some banks offer loans equiv­alent to the Ghana Reference Rate, whilst others will charge rates as high as 40 percent.

This, however, depends on the risk profile of the customers.

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