The total value of secured loans granted by banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) in the fourth quarter of 2024 reached GHȼ8.2 billion.
It marks a significant increase from the GHȼ5.9 billion recorded in the same period of 2023.
This represents a 38.9 percent year-on-year growth, according to the latest Bank of Ghana Collateral Registry Quarterly Brief for the Fourth Quarter of 2024.
Banks accounted for GHȼ5.7 billion of the total secured loans, reflecting a 26.7 percent increase from GHȼ4.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile, SDIs recorded GHȼ2.5 billion in secured loans, a substantial 78.6 percent rise from GHȼ1.4 billion in the corresponding period of 2023.
In terms of market share, banks remained the dominant lenders, registering 69.5 percent of total secured loans in the fourth quarter of 2024, down from 76.3 percent in the same period the previous year.
Savings and Loans Companies (S&Ls) increased their share to 17.4 percent from 13.3 percent in 2023. Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) also expanded their share to 10.4 percent from 6.9 percent in the previous year.
Conversely, Microfinance Institutions saw a marginal decline in their share to 1.4 percent from 1.7 percent, while Finance Houses recorded a slight drop to 0.3 percent from 0.5 percent.
The cumulative share of secured loans from other lending institutions declined to 1.0 percent from 1.2 percent over the same period.
In terms of borrower classification, large enterprises remained the largest recipients of secured loans, although their share fell to 48.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 60.3 percent in 2023.
Individual borrowers followed, increasing their share to 28.0 percent from 20.4 percent.
Private Enterprises – SMEs accounted for 18.5 percent of secured loans, up from 14.3 percent in the previous year.
Micro Businesses experienced a decline in their share to 1.8 percent from 3.3 percent, while other borrower categories received 3.2 percent of the total secured loans, rising from 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.
