Ghana Reference Rate Eases Marginally to 15.68% in January 2026
The Ghana Reference Rate (GRR), which serves as the standard benchmark for pricing loans by commercial banks, recorded a slight decline for January 2026, maintaining its downward momentum.
Figures released by the Ghana Association of Banks show that the GRR eased to 15.68% in January 2026 from 15.9% in December 2025, with the new rate taking effect from January 7, 2026.
The marginal drop was largely supported by favourable movements in the components used to compute the GRR, notably the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), Treasury bill yields and interbank market rates. Some commercial banks, have attributed the review to modest improvements in inflation trends and reduced Treasury bill rates.
In December 2025, the benchmark rate declined to 15.9% after the Bank of Ghana lowered the MPR by 350 basis points to 18%, coupled with a mild softening in Treasury bill yields. This followed a modest increase in November 2025, when the GRR rose to 17.96% from 17.86%, reflecting slight upticks in Treasury bill rates—from 10.50% to 10.67%—and interbank rates, which inched up from 20.93% to 21%.
Earlier in the year, the GRR posted a more pronounced fall in October 2025, dropping by two percentage points from its September level to 19.86%. The rate had opened 2025 at 29.72%, climbed marginally to 29.96% in February, and then declined steadily to 19.67% by August.
Borrowing cost outlook
The latest adjustment is expected to result in a marginal reduction in lending costs across the banking sector. Facilities contracted in December 2025 are likely to be repriced using the new GRR, implying lower interest obligations compared with loans booked in November.
Customers on fixed interest rates will see no change, while borrowers on variable-rate facilities may experience slight revisions, depending on the pricing policies of their respective banks.
The decline comes at a time when credit conditions remain tight, as businesses continue to navigate liquidity pressures stemming from measures introduced to rein in inflation and restore macroeconomic stability.
Data from the latest Monetary Policy Report indicate that average lending rates have fallen from 26.6% to 24.2%, pointing to a gradual easing in credit conditions. The Bank of Ghana has also highlighted a downward movement in money market yields, with the 91-day Treasury bill rate declining from 13.4% in July to 10.3% in August 2025.
The GRR was introduced in 2017 by the Bank of Ghana, in partnership with the Ghana Association of Banks, to provide a clear and uniform benchmark for pricing loans. The inaugural GRR, published in April 2017, stood at 16.82%.
Following extensive consultations with industry stakeholders, the framework replaced the previous base rate regime and continues to serve as a key reference point for interest rate determination within Ghana’s financial sector.
