Head of Trading, Global Markets at Absa Bank Ghana Limited, Andrews Akoto, has called on banks to help businesses raise long-term funds through the capital market rather than relying mainly on traditional bank loans.

According to him, although lower interest rates are expected to encourage increased lending by banks, many businesses require long-term financing to expand, which conventional bank loans may not adequately provide.

Akoto made the remarks during the second edition of the Channel One TV Economic Quarterly on July 9, 2026, where economists, financial experts and business leaders discussed Ghana’s economic performance and outlook for the rest of 2026.

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He said the improving economic conditions would encourage banks to extend more credit to businesses.

“Essentially, with the lower interest rates, this is very accommodative, and so there will be a lot of loan growth that the banks are positioned for. You would see the banks out there actually trying to write more loans,” he said.

He, however, noted that many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would require support to strengthen their operations before they can qualify for larger financing.

“There will be a lot of hand-holding where you want to build the capacity of SMEs to be able to access these kinds of loans, or maybe grow from that small-scale enterprise to be able to access something like the alternative markets of the stock exchange,” he stated.

Akoto explained that businesses seeking to expand require long-term capital, which traditional commercial bank loans are not structured to provide.

“The kind of capital that these businesses need is long-term capital, and traditional bank loans are not fit for purpose for that kind of expansion,” he explained.

He therefore urged banks to adopt a new approach by helping businesses raise funds from the capital market.

“A lot of the banks in Ghana have to now pivot away from net interest income and try to guide and handhold the business environment into the capital markets, where we will be their arrangers and help them access investor capital,” he added.

ANAS/MA

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