Guinea's central bank BCRG held its policy interest rate at 9.5% and banks' reserve requirement at 11.5% on September 18, its monetary policy committee said. The average commercial bank lending rate fell to 13.2% in the second quarter from 16.8% in the first, while broad money increased 37.7% year-on-year, the bank said.
Analysis: Average lending rates dropped 3.6 percentage points in one quarter, far more than the policy rate cut of 25 basis points on March 30. That narrowed the lending-rate premium over the policy rate to 3.7 points in the second quarter from 7.1 in the first, when the policy rate was 9.75%, by our calculation. With net foreign assets up 65.4%, abundant liquidity appears to be lowering borrowing costs rather than policy easing. Firms refinancing working capital could benefit, although banks may face narrower lending margins. Against July inflation of 6.4%, the policy rate is about 3.1 points higher. The committee generally meets quarterly, pointing to another decision around December.
Source: Banque Centrale de la République de Guinée (BCRG), BCRG, Communiqué de presse, 22ème réunion ordinaire du Comité de Politique Monétaire, 18 septembre 2026, Decision of 18 Sept 2026 (unchanged) and Q2 2026 and as reported 18 Sept 2026 (likely end-June 2026); Banque Centrale de la République de Guinée (BCRG), BCRG, Communiqué, 22ème CPM, 18 septembre 2026, Decision of 18 Sept 2026 and as reported 18 Sept 2026 (likely end-June 2026) and 2026 (projection); Institut National de la Statistique (INS), Ministère du Plan, INS, Indice national harmonisé des prix à la consommation (INHPC) - Juillet 2026, July 2026