Commercial banks cemented their dominance in Ghana’s credit bureau activity in 2024, conducting 13.52 million searches, according to the Bank of Ghana’s latest Credit Reporting Activity Report.

This represented an 84.93 percent of total enquiries compared to the 77.38 percent recorded the previous year.

In contrast, the share of microfinance and microcredit institutions fell to 8.82% from 11.0% in 2023.

Per the data, savings and loan companies, as well as other institutions, recorded fewer searches than in the previous year.

The report attributes the overall rise in credit bureau activity to a surge in digital lending and stronger compliance with data submission requirements.

Overall, financial institutions and authorised users conducted 29.5 million credit bureau searches in 2024, more than double the 13.7 million recorded in 2023.

The monthly average climbed to 2.46 million, representing a 16.24% increase year-on-year.

Individuals accounted for 55% of all searches, while 44% targeted digital loan customers—underscoring the growing influence of fintech-driven lending in Ghana’s credit market.

The report also noted a 190% jump in loan data submissions, with credit bureaus receiving an average of 61.1 million records monthly.

Nearly all submissions (99.7%) were linked to individual borrowers, reflecting the expansion of digital credit.

Total credit information search surges

Overall, credit information enquiries on Ghana’s credit reference bureau databases surged to nearly 30 million in 2024, more than double the 13 million recorded in 2023.

Monthly averages rose 16.24% to 2.46 million from 2.11 million in 2023, reflecting greater reliance on credit histories for loan approvals, recoveries, and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks.

The report also highlights the growing role of digital lending. Individuals accounted for 55% of all searches, while 44% were linked to digital loan customers, underlining fintechs’ expanding footprint in Ghana’s credit market.

Loan data submissions soared as well, averaging 61 million records per month – a 190.33% increase from 21 million in 2023.

Almost all submissions (99.7%) related to individual borrowers, driven by the rapid growth of digital lending platforms.