The Court of Appeal has unanimously restored the operating licence of GN Savings and Loans Company Limited. This ruling effectively overturns both a High Court judgment from January 2024 and the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) controversial 2019 decision to revoke the institution’s licence.
The three-member appellate panel strongly criticised the central bank’s actions. They declared the 2019 revocation of the savings and loans licence as “unfair and unreasonable.” The court further directed the state-appointed receiver to immediately return control of the institution's assets and operations to its shareholders.
This judgment is the most significant judicial intervention following the government’s comprehensive 2017–2020 financial sector clean-up. During this period, the BoG revoked the licences of numerous financial institutions. These institutions included banks, savings and loans companies, and microfinance entities. The BoG cited widespread insolvency and regulatory non-compliance as reasons for these actions. GN Bank, a well-known institution, was significantly affected by these measures. In January 2019, the central bank downgraded its universal banking licence to a savings and loans licence. This followed GN Bank’s failure to meet the BoG’s revised minimum capital requirement of GHS 400 million.
The BoG revoked the reclassified savings and loans licence for GN Savings and Loans in August 2019. The central bank claimed a negative capital adequacy ratio of -61 percent and significant governance failures. Crucially, the BoG alleged that over US$62 million in depositors’ funds had been improperly transferred to a related Groupe Nduom entity in the United States.
Groupe Nduom consistently rejected these claims. The company argued it met all conditions for the licence downgrade. Groupe Nduom also stated that the BoG’s assessment of its financial health was incorrect. They maintained that government debts owed to Nduom-affiliated contractors artificially weakened the balance sheet, not mismanagement.
The legal process began with a High Court ruling in January 2024, which favoured the Bank of Ghana. GN Savings and Loans immediately appealed this decision. The appellate process extended into 2026. On February 10, 2026, the Court of Appeal allowed the BoG an extension to file its submissions. This set the stage for the final ruling, which now fundamentally changes the perception of the financial sector clean-up.
This ruling raises critical questions about how the 2019 financial sector clean-up was managed. It also scrutinises the central bank’s regulatory practices during that turbulent period. The Bank of Ghana has not yet responded publicly to the judgment. Financial observers are now watching to see if the central bank will challenge the appellate ruling at the Supreme Court or comply with the directive to return control of GN Savings and Loans to Groupe Nduom.