The Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea published its 2025 annual report, reviewing monetary easing, stronger foreign reserves and banking sector expansion alongside persistent prudential weaknesses. Real gross domestic product grew by 6.9%, supported by mining, infrastructure investment and services. Inflation reached 3.9% in December 2025, up from 3.1% a year earlier, as supply constraints and congestion at the Port of Conakry increased domestic food prices. During 2025, the policy rate and reserve requirement ratio each fell by 1 percentage point, to 9.75% and 11.75%, respectively. Banking liquidity increased by 64.8%, but claims on the private sector grew by only 8.9%, while the average lending rate declined modestly from 14.27% to 14%. Broad money expanded by 38.1%, mainly reflecting higher net foreign assets. Gross external reserves covered 3.1 months of imports, compared with 1.6 months in 2024, supported by gold operations and closer monitoring of export revenue repatriation. Nevertheless, the reported repatriation rate for artisanal gold exports remained below the regulatory threshold, at 52% against 60%. Banking supervision identified 23 prudential breaches, compared with 21 in 2024, principally involving capital, liquidity, risk diversification and foreign exchange positions. All banks met the minimum solvency ratio of 10%, and the aggregate regulatory capital ratio rose to 20.73%. However, six banks breached risk diversification requirements, while inspections found weaknesses in governance, risk management and internal controls. Payment infrastructure modernization included migration to new settlement and clearing platforms and the start of drafting a new payment systems law. The report projects growth of 9.5% in 2026, driven by the Simandou mining project and associated investment, while identifying geopolitical tensions and commodity price increases as risks.

Original source