MONROVIA, Liberia, September 10, 2026 — President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has challenged Liberia’s financial sector to move beyond conferences and recommendations and take concrete action to address the country’s non-performing loan problem, warning that repeated failure to implement reforms is undermining access to credit.
President Boakai said Liberia has held numerous conferences, produced reports and made recommendations on critical national issues, but has too often failed to translate those recommendations into action.
He warned that unresolved non-performing loans (NPLs) have consequences beyond the banking sector, making financial institutions more cautious about lending and ultimately making credit more difficult and expensive for businesses and ordinary Liberians.
The President made the remarks Wednesday, September 9, at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Congo Town while officially opening the National Non-Performing Loans Resolution Conference organized by the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).
Boakai said recommendations emerging from the conference would have little value unless they are accompanied by practical commitments, clearly assigned responsibilities, realistic timelines and mechanisms to monitor implementation.
He urged participants to ensure that the gathering does not end with another report that is subsequently left unimplemented.
The President said Liberia can no longer afford to repeatedly defer action on critical national problems and challenged participants to make the current conference different by focusing on implementation.
He also stressed that responsibility for addressing non-performing loans cannot rest solely with the Central Bank.
Boakai called on commercial banks to lend responsibly and properly assess prospective borrowers, while reminding borrowers that loans constitute financial obligations that must be repaid.
“Liberia’s development ambitions, including creating jobs, expanding opportunities for young people and women, strengthening agriculture and food security, improving infrastructure and growing Liberian-owned businesses, cannot be achieved without a healthy financial system capable of financing productive economic activities,” Boakai said.
The President said stakeholders must not only resolve existing bad loans but also establish safeguards to prevent new loans from becoming non-performing.
He called on the judiciary and other institutions involved in commercial disputes to ensure that disagreements between lenders and borrowers are resolved fairly and efficiently.
Boakai acknowledged that borrowers can sometimes encounter difficulties beyond their control, including changes in government policies that could affect their ability to repay loans.
He said any national strategy for addressing distressed loans should therefore balance the legitimate interests of lenders with the circumstances confronting borrowers.
The President also called for realistic deadlines and a monitoring mechanism to determine whether commitments reached at the conference are being implemented.
“Deferred matters don’t run countries,” Boakai said, stressing that responsibility must be assigned for addressing difficult national problems even when proposed solutions may not satisfy everyone.
He said resolving the NPL problem would help strengthen confidence in Liberia’s financial system by ensuring that responsible borrowers can obtain financing while lenders have greater confidence that legitimate obligations will be honored.
According to Boakai, a stronger lending environment would improve access to capital for farmers, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, women and young people seeking to establish or expand businesses and create jobs.
“We know the problem. We have brought the right institutions together. Now we must move from discussion to action,” the President said.
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