Auditor-General’s Report Reveals Commercial Banks Recorded $50.1 Billion in FX Earnings for 2024
Foreign Exchange dealer commercial banks in Ghana recorded a total of $50.1 billion in foreign exchange earnings in 2024, representing a 21.05% year-on-year increase.
This is according to the Auditor-General’s latest review of the Consolidated Statements of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments of the Bank of Ghana.
The figure marks a significant uptick from the US$41.4 billion reported in 2023 and reflects improved performance in foreign exchange earnings by the commercial banks on behalf of their customers.
According to the Auditor-General’s 2024 report, FX dealer Commercial Banks are required to submit monthly returns on foreign exchange earnings on behalf of their customers to the Bank of Ghana.
“All the twenty-three (23) dealer commercial banks that operated in the year 2024 submitted returns on their foreign exchange earnings to BoG. The total foreign exchange earned by dealer commercial banks was US$50,101,278,879.47 compared with US$41,390,590,391.43 for 2023, showing an increase of US$8,710,688,488.04 or 21.05%,” noted the Auditor-General.
Adding that, the FX earnings consist of surrendered proceeds from mining companies, and exporters of diamond, bauxite, and manganese.
“A total amount of US$48,382,271.92 was surrendered by the mining companies, and the exporters of the other minerals in 2024,” the report quipped.
The increase in forex earnings comes at a time when Ghana is working to rebuild its external buffers and improve macroeconomic stability under an IMF-supported economic reform programme.
Meanwhile, total forex inflows through the Bank of Ghana rose to US$11.99 billion, up 42.6% from US$8.41 billion recorded in 2023. The increase was supported by export receipts from cocoa and minerals, government loan disbursements, BoG short-term facilities, and earnings from correspondence accounts.
Stronger foreign exchange earnings could help support the central bank’s efforts to stabilise the cedi, curb inflationary pressures, and manage external debt service obligations more effectively.
