The Bank of Ghana has issued comprehensive new regulations governing its foreign exchange spot interventions, introducing a more systematic and transparent mechanism for managing cedi volatility, while explicitly ruling out any attempt to defend a fixed exchange rate.
Announcing the framework via public notice, the central bank described it as a “structured discretion-under-constraint approach”, with interventions designed “not to target a specific exchange rate level but rather to address market failures”.
The guidelines affirm that the exchange rate will remain market-determined, but empower the Bank to intervene in response to sharp swings.
This rules-based system, the Bank explained, permits market-driven price discovery “while limiting excess short-term volatility, but not eliminating it”.
Spot market interventions form one component of the Bank’s wider foreign exchange operations, which also include reserve accumulation and forex intermediation.
“All participants shall be expected to fully abide by the following rules,” the document states.
Auctions will be triggered only when market conditions fall inside a pre-defined intervention region. Announcements may be made either same-day or one day in advance, disseminated via the LSEG Workspace Auctions platform and Refinitiv FXT.
Each notice will state the target intervention volume and any accompanying parameters.
Participation is restricted to authorised forex dealing banks licensed by the Bank of Ghana. All interventions will be conducted in US dollars against the Ghana cedi on a spot basis. Bids must be expressed in cedis per dollar to four decimal places (e.g. 10.0000).
To mitigate concentration risk, the Bank has imposed per-bank limits: a maximum of three bids, a minimum bid value of $500,000, and increments of $250,000.
Critically, the total bid volume from any single bank may not exceed 20% of the auction’s announced target. Incomplete, late, or non-compliant bids will be rejected, and “Each bid is final and is irrevocably binding on the bidding bank.”
Auctions will operate under a multiple-price, fixed-volume format. For foreign exchange purchase auctions, bids are ranked from lowest to highest rate and allocated in ascending order until the target volume is met.
For sales, bids are ordered from the highest to the lowest rate and allotted in descending order. In the event of multiple bids at identical rates, allocations will be prorated among those tied bids.
Auction results will be published via LSEG Workspace Broadcast and distributed by email no later than 2:00 pm on the auction day.
Settlement follows a T+2 schedule, with trades confirmed and executed on the Refinitiv platform. In cases of operational disruption, the Bank stated that its dealers would contact successful banks directly via the Refinitiv conversational dealing system to complete settlement.
The central bank further reminded participating institutions of their obligations under the Net Open Position limits, the Foreign Exchange Act 2006 (Act 723), and the Ghana Interbank Forex Market Conduct rules.
Preserving room for manoeuvre, the Bank noted that it “reserves the right to revise, amend, or supplement these rules as it deems appropriate, taking into account operational considerations, regulatory requirements, and prevailing circumstances.”
The guidelines, signed by Acting Secretary Ms Aimee Vyda Quashie and dated February 10, 2026, mark the latest milestone in the Bank’s push to entrench transparency and bolster confidence in Ghana’s foreign exchange market, a critical front in the fight to stabilise the cedi, tame inflation, and sustain macroeconomic recovery.
