Losses under the Bank of Ghana’s Gold-for-Reserves programme have surged to US$214 million in the first nine months of 2025, primarily due to operational costs associated with GoldBod and trading shortfalls, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed.

The disclosure is contained in the IMF’s Fifth Review report on Ghana’s three-year Extended Credit Facility programme. The report flags these losses as a significant downside risk to the country’s overall economic stabilization efforts.

According to the IMF, the majority of the losses stem from trading activities within the artisanal and small-scale mining doré gold transactions component of the programme, coupled with fees paid to off-takers linked to GoldBod’s operations.

Specifically, losses from the artisanal and small-scale doré gold transactions reached US$214 million by the end of the third quarter of 2025, largely attributed to trading losses and GoldBod off-taker fees.

The IMF has cautioned that the rapid expansion of the Gold-for-Reserves programme, particularly since the establishment of GoldBod, could expose Ghana to increased vulnerabilities. The Fund emphasized that the programme’s growing scale presents substantial downside risks.

A JoyNews Research assessment indicates that the warning reflects broader financial and macroeconomic concerns. As the programme expands, it becomes more susceptible to losses arising from price discrepancies, operational difficulties, service charges, and discounts offered to off-takers. Even minor inefficiencies can lead to significant financial setbacks with increased transaction volumes.

These losses could also strain the Bank of Ghana’s balance sheet and erode its monetary policy credibility if the central bank continues to absorb them or indirectly finance the programme. This could weaken confidence in the Bank’s ability to maintain economic stability, potentially impacting inflation expectations and the performance of the cedi.

Further analysis suggests that a programme of this magnitude also carries governance and market distortion risks, particularly if operations lack transparency or are subject to discretionary decision-making. A dominant role for a state intermediary could hinder accurate price discovery, discourage private sector participation in the foreign exchange and gold markets, and potentially fuel parallel market activities if official pricing deviates from market realities.

The IMF also highlighted losses of $128 million in 2024 from the now-discontinued Gold-for-Oil component of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, with 30% of these losses – equivalent to $0.8 billion – resulting solely from gold sales.

The report further states that the Bank of Ghana’s remaining exposure to the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) will be transferred to the government, in line with an exit strategy approved by the BoG Board in May 2024.

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