Loans are not free, repay to help reduce interest rates – Dr. Opoku-Afari

Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, former First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, has called on businesses to prioritize loan repayments to help lower Ghana’s high interest rates.

Speaking at the 2025 Church of Pentecost Global Business Conference, he linked persistently high lending rates to the rising levels of non-performing loans (NPLs), currently around 20-21%.

He explained that banks factor unpaid loans into their interest rate calculations, leading to higher borrowing costs. He urged businesses to embrace responsible borrowing, emphasizing that repaying loans promptly could create a more stable financial sector and drive interest rates down to single digits.

Dr. Opoku-Afari also noted Ghana’s shift to a credit scoring system, similar to advanced economies, where borrowers with good repayment histories receive lower interest rates.

He encouraged businesses to leverage this system by maintaining strong credit records for better loan terms.