The Bank of Ghana published opening remarks by Governor Dr Johnson P. Asiama at a stakeholder engagement with members of the clergy on Non-Interest Banking and Finance (NIBF), positioning the session as part of a broader engagement series to support the establishment of the institutional, legal and regulatory framework needed to operationalise NIBF in Ghana. The remarks framed NIBF as an interest-free model based on profit-and-loss sharing that could expand financial inclusion through greater product choice. The Governor described NIBF as a risk-sharing, asset-backed approach that prohibits interest and speculative investment and restricts financing to ethical activities, excluding sectors such as alcohol, gambling, adult entertainment and weapons manufacturing. The remarks cited global adoption, including an NIBF balance sheet size exceeding USD 5.5 trillion as of end-December 2024, and linked potential NIBF instruments such as Sukuk bonds to Ghana’s infrastructure financing needs (estimated at USD 37.9 billion annually, per a United Nations report), as well as to sovereign and corporate funding and Basel III Tier I and II capital augmentation; examples referenced included South Africa’s USD 500 million sovereign Sukuk in 2014 and USD 1.1 billion multi-tranche issuance in 2023, and Nigeria’s sovereign Sukuk programme mobilising about USD 2.37 billion since 2017.
Bank of Ghana 2025-07-25
Bank of Ghana engages clergy on plans to establish a regulatory framework for non-interest banking and finance
The Bank of Ghana's Governor, Dr. Johnson P. Asiama, highlighted Non-Interest Banking and Finance (NIBF) as a profit-and-loss sharing model aimed at enhancing financial inclusion in Ghana. NIBF prohibits interest and speculative investments, focusing on ethical financing and excluding sectors like alcohol and gambling. The Governor noted the global NIBF balance sheet exceeds USD 5.5 trillion and linked instruments like Sukuk bonds to Ghana's infrastructure financing needs.