Although the banking sector has not witnessed new entrants this year, the number of microfinance institutions licensed by the Bank of Ghana has more than doubled to 228 by June 2013, from 90 in December 2012. The increasing trend in acquisition of licenses by microfinance institutions signals the increasing demand by economic agents at the lower echelon of financial service provision.
•  With larger and more persistent excess supply in the economy, both total CPI and core inflation are expected to return more gradually to 2 per cent, around the end of 2015.