Ghana's banking industry recorded a substantial GHS 67.8 billion expansion in customer deposits in 2025. This significant growth signals improving confidence in the financial system as macroeconomic conditions stabilised.
Total customer deposits reached GHS 334.3 billion, up from GHS 266.5 billion the previous year. This represents a 25.44% increase, according to the PwC Ghana Banking Survey 2026. The GHS 67.8 billion addition materially strengthened the industry’s funding base after several challenging years.
This deposit surge follows a period marked by high inflation, currency volatility, and elevated interest rates. Ghana's domestic debt restructuring also impacted bank balance sheets. The improved macroeconomic stability and stronger customer confidence are key drivers. Banks also expanded their branch and agency networks, alongside increased use of digital banking services.
PwC attributed this growth partly to the improved macroeconomic environment. They also noted stronger customer confidence. The expansion of branch and agency banking networks played a role. Increased use of digital banking services also contributed to the deposit growth. This indicates a positive shift in the financial landscape.
The composition of this deposit growth offers important insights into changing customer behaviour. Current-account deposits remained the primary source of bank funding. They rose by 15.80% to GHS 184.9 billion. This was supported by increased transaction banking activity. Individuals and businesses continued to route payments through formal financial channels. This trend highlights the growing reliance on established banking systems for daily transactions.
The strongest growth category was time deposits, which surged by 56.80% to GHS 49.2 billion. Call deposits also increased by 37.50% to GHS 16.7 billion. This expansion in interest-sensitive categories suggests depositors are more willing to commit funds for longer periods. They seek attractive yields rather than keeping all their money in immediately accessible accounts. This shift reflects a more strategic approach to savings.
For banks, this larger deposit base presents both an opportunity and a strategic challenge. It provides greater capacity to extend loans and purchase financial assets. This can support broader economic activity. However, rapid growth in time deposits can increase funding costs. These costs are higher compared to cheaper current and savings accounts. Banks must therefore deploy this additional liquidity efficiently to maintain profitability.
The central economic question is whether this 2025 deposit expansion will translate into stronger productive private-sector credit. Ghanaian banks have historically found government securities attractive. These offer liquidity and a favourable risk profile. However, an economy seeking stronger investment and job creation needs more financial-sector liquidity directed to companies. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) particularly require this funding. The increase in deposits could become more important if it improves the transmission of domestic savings into working capital, machinery, mortgages, and business expansion. This is preferable to primarily increasing holdings of financial assets. The next stage of banking-sector recovery will be judged by how effectively banks convert funding into sustainable credit without weakening asset quality.
Competition for deposits is also reshaping the industry structure. GCB Bank, Ecobank Ghana, and Stanbic Bank Ghana collectively controlled about 30.69% of total industry deposits in 2025. GCB held the largest individual share at 12.37%. Ecobank Ghana followed with 10.52%, and Stanbic with 7.80%. The continued dominance of these large institutions reflects their advantages. These include longstanding corporate relationships, broad customer bases, and established distribution networks. They also possess increasingly sophisticated digital platforms.
However, movements further down the ranking show that these advantages are not preventing mid-sized banks from gaining market share. OmniBSIC Bank recorded a striking improvement. It moved from 13th position in 2024 to fifth in 2025. It now holds a 6.00% share of industry deposits. PwC attributed this to focused customer acquisition and growth in retail and SME deposits. This illustrates how quickly competitive positions can change. Banks combine targeted mobilisation strategies with product innovation to achieve this. Zenith Bank Ghana also strengthened its market position. Its deposit share increased from 5.90% to 6.30%. This was supported by targeted deposit mobilisation and digital banking initiatives. First Atlantic Bank increased its share to 4.90%. This performance is linked to customer retention and stronger business-banking offerings. These shifts suggest Ghana’s deposit market is becoming more contested. This is happening even as a relatively small number of institutions retain substantial scale. Digitalisation is likely to deepen this competition further. Mobile applications, agency banking, and instant-payment systems will continue to drive changes.