Ghana's Q2 2026 Financial Rollercoaster: Loans Surge, Registrations Plummet!

The Second Quarter Brief on the 2026 Collateral Registry, released by the Bank of Ghana, presents a mixed but predominantly positive outlook on secured lending activities. While security interest registrations experienced a notable decline, the total value of secured credit registered during the period saw a significant increase, indicating robust growth in lending, particularly driven by the banking sector.

Security interest registrations decreased by 32.2%, falling to 92,033 in the second quarter of 2026 from 135,721 registrations in the second quarter of 2025. This decline was primarily attributed to Savings and Loans Institutions (S&Ls), whose registrations dropped by 42.4%, from 119,649 in Q2 2025 to 68,871 in Q2 2026.

Conversely, the total value of secured credit advanced and registered soared by 73.4% year-on-year, reaching GH¢31.5 billion in Q2 2026, compared to GH¢18.2 billion in Q2 2025. This substantial expansion was largely propelled by banks, which continued to dominate the secured transactions landscape. Comparing the first quarter of 2026 to the second quarter of 2026, the total value of secured credit also demonstrated a significant increase of 57.5%.

Banks accounted for a commanding GH¢19.9 billion, representing 63.1% of the total secured credit value registered in Q2 2026. This figure marks a 36.6% increase over the GH¢14.5 billion recorded in Q2 2025. Other lenders contributed GH¢8.3 billion, making up 26.3% of the total secured credit value. Within the banking sector, foreign-controlled banks registered GH¢14.1 billion, or 71.1% of the total bank-registered credit, showing a 19.3% increase over Q2 2025. Indigenous banks also demonstrated strong growth, registering GH¢5.7 billion, a remarkable 112.4% increase from GH¢2.7 billion in Q2 2025. This distribution highlights the continued dominance of foreign-controlled banks in secured lending, alongside steady expansion among indigenous banks.

In terms of activity on the Collateral Registry Application System (CRAS), search volumes saw a healthy increase. Ninety thousand five hundred and eighteen searches were conducted during Q2 2026, reflecting a 13.9% increase over the 17,140 searches recorded in Q2 2025. Furthermore, comparing Q1 2026 to Q2 2026, there was an 8.7% rise in searches, from 17,955 to 19,518. This increased search activity signifies a stronger utilization of the Registry's platform by lenders and other stakeholders, contributing to improved credit due diligence and reduced information asymmetry. The intensified sensitisation and training activities conducted by the Registry are believed to be a contributing factor to this trend. Savings and Loans Institutions, despite their decline in registrations, accounted for the largest share of searches, conducting 12,397 searches, a 3.6% year-on-year increase in Q2 2026 compared to 11,968 searches in Q2 2025.