GROWTH of money outside banks which dropped to 16.2 percent in January 2017 shot up again to 22.3 percent in March 2017, according to the latest Bank of Ghana (BoG) Summary of Economic & Financial Data.

It had gone down heavily to 10.6 percent in October 2016 but inched up to 20.2 percent in November 2016 and 19.2 percent in December 2016 respectively.

At the same time, growth of Savings and Time deposits inched up to 39.5 percent in March 2017, from 36.5 percent in February 2017, despite continuous reduction in interest rates on treasury securities.

In January 2017, Savings and Time deposits grew by 32.7 percent.

Demand Deposits, mainly current account however declined from 34.5 percent in February 2017 to 31.2 percent in March 2017.

The report noted that foreign currency deposits growth dipped to 16.6 percent in March 2017, compared with 24.6 percent in February 2017 and 22.5 percent in March 2017.

The report further stated that deposits dropped from GH¢ 52.9 billion in March 2017 to GH¢ 52.8 billion in April 2017. Deposits had shot up consistently from August 2016 to February 2017, hitting GH¢53.2 billion in February 2017.

Liquidity grew by 28.2 percent in March 2017, as against 29.9 percent in February 2017.In November and December 2017, liquidity growth was 19.6 and 17.2 percent respectively.

Total assets of the banking industry stood at GH¢84.5 billion in April 2017, compared with GH¢83.9 billion at the end of March 2017.

Growth of loans and advances however declined to 16.7 percent in April 2017, about GH¢36.0 billio. This is compared with 19.3 percent growth the previous month.

The banking sector’s capital adequacy ratio dropped to 17.4 percent in April 2017, compared with 18.1 percent in March 2017.

Non-performing loans stood at 19.8 percent in April 2017, a marginal decline of 0.4 percent from March 2017 (20.2 percent).

The banks in Ghana made a provision of about 10.3 percent as bad debts in their books at the end of April 2017, the Report reiterated.

The latest credit conditions survey by the Bank of Ghana conducted in April 2017 showed a general easing of credit conditions for enterprises and households.

But credit for house purchases tightened in the first quarter of 2017.

Credit to the private sector and public institutions gained some momentum. For the 12-month period to March 2017, credit to the private sector and public institutions increased by GH¢5.0 billion (19.4 percent year-on-year growth) compared with GH¢2.6 billion (11.2 percent year-on-year growth) recorded for the same period in 2016.

The private sector accounted for 86.1 percent of the total credit flow. In real terms, credit to the private sector also showed a rebound, increasing by 5.9 percent, on year-on-year basis, in March 2017 after contracting by 6.9 percent same period last year.

The banking industry in Ghana returned to profitability during the first two months of 2017 following a 15.9 percent growth in their bottom line.