By: Aaron Kubahn
Gmail: aaronkubahn2015@gmail.com
Contact: 0888832186/0776049985
Monrovia, April 22, 2025 — The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has blamed discrepancies in the graphical presentation of its 2024 Annual Report for misleading interpretations that sparked recent reports suggesting a decline in the banking sector.
The CBL’s clarification comes in the wake of a critical analysis published by international development expert Ambulah Mamey, who cited what he described as “staggering declines” in total assets, capital, deposits, and credit between 2022 and 2024. Mamey warned that the data pointed to a deepening crisis in the country’s banking sector and criticized the Boakai-Koung administration’s response as inadequate and silent in the face of what he called a “hidden collapse.”
However, the Central Bank has dismissed these conclusions, describing them as based on a misinterpretation of data visuals in its report.
In a statement released Tuesday, the Bank admitted that key graphics on page 10 and Table 19 of the Annual Report were improperly labeled, leading to a “visual impression of a contraction in the banking sector’s performance” that does not reflect the actual numbers.
“The graphical representation of key banking sector balance sheet figures for the years 2022 and 2024 were inadvertently transposed,” the Bank stated. “This created a false narrative of decline, whereas the actual data shows consistent growth.”
To support its position, the CBL outlined growth across key financial indicators:
Total assets increased from L$206 billion in 2022 to over L$340 billion by the first quarter of 2025, while Customer deposits rose steadily from L$135 billion in 2022 to L$251 billion.
It added that the Commercial bank capital climbed from L$31.4 billion to L$47.6 billion and Credit to the private sector surpassed L$100 billion in 2024, while Net income of commercial banks increased from L$4.2 billion in 2022 to L$10.6 billion in 2024.
The Bank further emphasized that Liberia’s banking sector remains not only stable but also profitable, backed by strong liquidity (49.29%) and capital adequacy (33.8%) ratios—figures that significantly exceed regulatory requirements.
While acknowledging the error in its graphic presentation, the Central Bank praised stakeholders like Mamey for engaging with its reports and announced that revised visuals will be published on its website. The Bank also assured the public that internal measures are being taken to prevent similar mistakes in the future
