In a keynote address to the Nationwide Letter of Commitment Sensitisation Programme, Bank of Ghana Second Deputy Governor Matilda Asante-Asiedu introduced revised operational guidelines for monitoring merchandise exports and repatriating export proceeds through the formal banking system. The revisions extend the repatriation period from 60 days to 120 days and seek to clarify stakeholder responsibilities, improve consistency and reduce operational bottlenecks for legitimate trade. The guidelines address Letter of Commitment generation and retirement, extension procedures, advance payments, retention arrangements and nonconformity cases. The Bank of Ghana is also strengthening monitoring, data management, automation and operational platforms. Further work will address third-party payments, regional trade settlements, Free Zones transactions, exchange rate considerations and legitimate shortfalls in export proceeds. Asante-Asiedu also highlighted the Bank of Ghana’s approval for Stanbic Bank Ghana to become the first domestic bank offering clients direct access to China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System. Eligible businesses can settle trade transactions directly in Chinese yuan, reducing reliance on intermediary banks, while GCB Bank PLC is pursuing a similar arrangement.
Bank of Ghana introduces revised Letter of Commitment guidelines, doubles export proceeds repatriation period to 120 days
The Bank of Ghana introduced revised Letter of Commitment guidelines and extended the export proceeds repatriation period from 60 days to 120 days. The revisions clarify compliance processes and are supported by greater automation and monitoring. Stanbic Bank Ghana has also become the first domestic bank approved to offer direct access to China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System.