Ghana’s banking sector is steadily recovering from the financial strain caused by the country’s domestic debt restructuring programme, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Speaking on PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, IMF Mission Chief for Ghana, Ruben Atoyan, said most banks in the country have now been recapitalised and are operating within the required regulatory standards.

His comments come at a time when Ghana continues efforts to strengthen and stabilise the financial sector following years of economic pressure, tighter regulations, and reforms introduced after the banking sector crisis.

Dr Atoyan explained that the domestic debt restructuring programme had a major impact on banks because it weakened their capital positions and left many financial institutions undercapitalised.

“The impact of domestic debt restructuring resulted in significant destruction of capital for the domestic banking system,” he said.

According to him, the situation forced authorities to implement a broad recapitalisation programme aimed at restoring confidence and ensuring banks met prudential requirements set by regulators.

“So many banks were undercapitalised,” he noted.

However, he said significant progress has been made under Ghana’s IMF-supported programme, with most banks now meeting the required capital adequacy levels.

“What the authorities have done has been quite successful during the programme, bringing banks back to full capital adequacy in line with prudential requirements, which has been achieved for almost all the banks,” Dr Atoyan stated.

He added that only a few institutions are yet to fully complete the process.

“For a couple of banks remaining,” he said, suggesting that work is still ongoing to ensure full compliance across the sector.

Despite the remaining challenges, the IMF official expressed optimism about the future of Ghana’s banking industry, saying the sector is on course to becoming fully stable and resilient by the end of the programme.

“We do expect that by the end of the programme the banking sector will be robust,” he added.

The comments are expected to boost confidence in Ghana’s financial sector, especially among investors, businesses, and customers who were affected by the economic difficulties and banking sector challenges in recent years.