BoG Governor Praises GoldBod, Wonders Why Institution Was Not Established Earlier

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Asiama, has praised the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) for its contribution to foreign exchange supply and market intermediation, declaring that he wonders why the institution was not established much earlier.

Speaking at a meeting with institutional investors, brokers and fund managers organised by Standard Bank at the Conrad Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, on the sidelines of the annual IMF/World Bank meetings, Dr. Asiama described GoldBod’s contribution as particularly valuable under current economic conditions.

“I have been wondering why we had not set up GoldBod long ago,” he said, adding that developments so far had justified the institution’s establishment.

The Governor’s remarks underscore the role GoldBod is playing in supporting foreign exchange supply while the central bank concentrates on building Ghana’s international reserves.

Dr. Asiama explained that the arrangement between the two institutions was complementary and did not amount to a transfer of the Bank of Ghana’s responsibilities to GoldBod.

“We want to focus on reserve build-up while GoldBod supports with FX intermediation as well as some level of intervention for the market,” he said.

He clarified that the central bank remained ready to intervene in the foreign exchange market whenever necessary to maintain orderly trading conditions and contain excessive volatility.

According to the Governor, foreign exchange inflows channelled through GoldBod would ordinarily have found their way into the market. The revised framework, however, enables GoldBod to direct those inflows towards supporting foreign exchange supply to commercial banks.

The arrangement forms part of GoldBod’s efforts to make foreign exchange earned from its gold operations available to the domestic financial market, while generating the cedi proceeds required to finance gold purchases through its licensed aggregators.

Since the beginning of October 2026, GoldBod has sold approximately US$452 million to commercial banks through its GoFX platform, which facilitates foreign exchange sales twice a week.

The platform incorporates electronic submissions, allocation processing, time-stamping, transaction histories and audit trails to support transparency and accountability. It operates under the regulatory oversight of the Bank of Ghana, which will have real-time access to the platform and receive transaction reports after each sale.

Under its revised foreign exchange programme, GoldBod is targeting approximately US$1.5 billion in October, comprising US$1 billion for sale to commercial banks and US$500 million to support the Bank of Ghana’s reserve accumulation.

Dr. Asiama assured investors that the central bank had not relinquished its responsibilities in the foreign exchange market. He emphasised that while GoldBod supports foreign exchange intermediation and market supply, the Bank retains the capacity to intervene when circumstances require it.

The Governor also expressed confidence in Ghana’s reserve accumulation programme, stating that the country remained on track to achieve six months of import cover by December 2026 under its Policy Coordination Instrument.

He said the reserves were being built to strengthen the economy’s resilience against adverse external developments, including a significant decline in international gold prices.

Dr. Asiama’s endorsement reinforces the strategic importance of GoldBod’s contribution to foreign exchange supply and reserve accumulation, as Ghana continues to implement measures aimed at strengthening macroeconomic stability and safeguarding the cedi.