ACCRA, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Ghana’s government and the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) have agreed on new terms for banks to participate in a domestic debt exchange plan, they said in a joint statement on Monday.

The government has agreed to pay a 5% coupon on its 2023 bonds, which the original debt exchange plan had said would not pay interest. All other restructured bonds will now pay 9% coupons, rather than the variable rates originally outlined, the statement said.

The two parties also agreed on the need for more clarity on the operational framework and the terms of access to the Ghana Financial Stability Fund, as well as the removal or amendment of clauses “that empower the Republic to, at its sole discretion, vary the terms of the Exchange”, it added.

Crisis-hit Ghana has to restructure its mountain of debt in order to access a relief package from the International Monetary Fund.

Ghana needs around 80% of bondholders to sign up for its domestic debt exchange program, which has faced resistance among individual bondholders due to lack of clarity about its terms.

The deadline to register for domestic debt exchange was extended for a third time to Jan. 31 this month in order to build consensus among stakeholders.

(Reporting by Cooper Inveen; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Sandra Maler)