"Ghana’s Fixed-Income Market Positioned to Anchor Regional Capital-Market Integration Under AfCFTA

Ghana’s Fixed-Income Market Positioned to Anchor Regional Capital-Market Integration Under AfCFTA – BoG Governor

Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiama, has underscored Ghana’s growing leadership in Africa’s fixed-income landscape, noting that the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) is well placed to anchor regional capital-market integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Financial Integration Framework.

Speaking at the commemoration of GFIM @10 on the theme “10 Years of Ghana Fixed Income Market — Deepening Markets, Expanding Possibilities,” Dr. Asiama stated that Ghana’s bond market now ranks among the continent’s most credible domestic platforms, with turnover reaching GH¢214 billion in 2025.

“GFIM can anchor regional capital-market integration under the AfCFTA Financial Integration Framework, given that Ghana’s bond market now ranks among Africa’s most credible domestic platforms. Our goal is to make Ghana the reference point for transparency, innovation, and sustainability in African fixed-income markets,” he said.

He cited Nigeria’s FMDQ partnership with Afreximbank and Morocco’s Casablanca Finance City as examples Ghana can emulate to build a strong regional hub linking pension funds, banks, and sovereign issuers. “Ghana now has a credible opportunity to lead, not follow,” he added.

Highlighting the progress made over the past decade, Dr. Asiama emphasised that the next phase of GFIM’s growth must focus on “resilience by design” — driven by depth, diversity, and digitalisation.

He called for the operationalisation of an active repo and securities-lending framework to ensure continuous liquidity, referencing South Africa’s Bond Exchange model as a successful precedent. He further urged for greater market diversity by broadening the issuer base and linking long-term funds with new issuers through credit-enhancement and guarantee mechanisms.

“So far, corporates have raised about GH¢24 billion through GFIM, while pension funds hold over GH¢90 billion in assets. The opportunity is clear: link long-term funds with new issuers. Nigeria’s sovereign sukuk and Kenya’s green-bond models demonstrate that diversification strengthens both the market and the economy,” he remarked.

On digitalisation, Dr. Asiama advocated for a real-time, end-to-end digital bond ecosystem integrating GFIM with the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) and the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) platform to enhance efficiency and reduce settlement risk.

“If trading volumes can rebound by over GH¢100 billion within two years of crisis, then a deeper, more digital, and more diversified market is not ambition; it is our next logical step,” he stated.

Reflecting on GFIM’s decade-long evolution, Dr. Asiama noted that cumulative trading volumes have surpassed GH¢1.2 trillion since inception, describing the market’s journey as one of resilience and transformation.

“When trust faltered, volumes dropped from GH¢230 billion in 2022 to GH¢98 billion in 2023. When credibility began to rebuild, the market spoke again — rebounding to GH¢214 billion by October 2025,” he said, adding that the fixed-income market remains a mirror of Ghana’s fiscal and monetary credibility.

He concluded with three lessons drawn from the market’s recovery: “Credibility is capital. Predictability is confidence. Coordination is protection.”

Dr. Asiama urged continued collaboration among government, regulators, and market participants to ensure that the next decade of GFIM is remembered “not just for growth in volume, but for growth in purpose.”