The Central Bank of Liberia will convene a high-level National Conference on Non-Performing Loans Resolution to address one of the most significant structural challenges facing Liberia's financial sector. This landmark event brings together the nation's foremost stakeholders in banking, finance, law, and development.

Liberia's banking sector continues to face elevated levels of non-performing loans. The NPL ratio stood at approximately 19.1 percent at end-2024—nearly double the Central Bank's regulatory threshold—with three banks accounting for more than half of the sector's NPL stock. While the ratio declined to about 12.9 percent in 2025, much of the improvement resulted from loan write-offs and restructurings rather than sustainable recovery.

The CBL's diagnostic work, supported by findings from The World Bank Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), identified key drivers of the problem, including weak credit underwriting standards, gaps in credit information infrastructure, slow debt recovery and insolvency processes, governance weaknesses, and the absence of a market for distressed assets.

Conference Objectives

• Establish a shared understanding of the causes and consequences of NPLs in Liberia.
• Identify reforms needed in banking supervision, credit infrastructure, insolvency, and debt recovery.
• Promote digital finance, financial inclusion, and responsible lending practices.
• Draw on regional and international experiences from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Tanzania.
• Develop a time-bound National NPL Resolution Roadmap with a formal Conference Communiqué and implementation framework.