UBA Ghana leads banking sector with 2.1% non-performing loan ratio

UBA Ghana has emerged as the leader in asset quality among Ghanaian banks, recording a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of just 2.1% for the 2025 financial year. This performance stands in stark contrast to state-owned institutions like the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and National Investment Bank (NIB), which are grappling with NPL ratios nearing 70%. The data, released in the Ghana Association of Banks’ latest financial statements, highlights a significant disparity in credit-risk management across the industry.

Despite significant government support and recent recapitalization efforts, ADB and NIB continue to face severe credit stress. ADB reported an NPL ratio of 70.5%, while NIB’s ratio stood at 69.7%. These figures persist even as both banks recorded healthy profits following state intervention, with ADB posting GH₵367.2 million and NIB reporting GH₵343.9 million. This disconnect between high profitability and poor asset quality has sparked concerns regarding the long-term sustainability of the sector’s recovery and the potential for future taxpayer-funded rescues.

The industry-wide recovery remains uneven, with some banks seeing sharp increases in impaired credits despite maintaining relatively low NPL ratios. A specific challenge cited in the financial reports is the delay in salary deductions intended for loan repayments. This bottleneck threatens to restrict new lending to public sector employees, as banks become increasingly wary of administrative delays that hinder their ability to recover debts and maintain liquidity.

The high NPL ratios at state-owned banks have intensified calls for transparency and accountability regarding past lending decisions and political influences. Analysts argue that while financial injections have stabilized bank operations, they do not resolve underlying governance issues. There is a growing demand for a public framework that ties future government support to measurable outcomes in loan recovery and improved credit-risk management to ensure the overall stability of the national financial system.