Court of Appeal Orders Bank of Ghana to Restore GN Savings Licence

The Court of Appeal has directed the Bank of Ghana to reinstate the operating licence of GN Savings and Loans, overturning an earlier High Court decision that had upheld the revocation of the company’s licence.

The three-member appellate panel also ordered that all assets belonging to the company be returned to its original owners and instructed the Receiver to hand over management back to the former management team.

The decision represents a significant turn in the prolonged legal dispute between GN Savings and Loans and the Bank of Ghana arising from the banking sector clean-up exercise launched in 2018.

GN Savings and Loans was reclassified as a savings and loans company on January 4, 2019, before being renamed GN Savings and Loans Company Limited. Later that year, on August 16, 2019, the central bank, under former Governor Ernest Addison, revoked the company’s licence and appointed Eric Nana Nipah as Receiver.

The company’s owners, led by Papa Kwesi Nduom, challenged the revocation at the High Court in Accra on August 30, 2019, arguing that the decision was unlawful, malicious, and unreasonable.

However, on January 24, 2024, the High Court, presided over by Justice Gifty Addo Adjei, ruled in favour of the Bank of Ghana. The court held that governance failures had made the company unable to meet its financial obligations and concluded that GN failed to prove it was solvent when its licence was revoked.

Justice Addo Adjei further ruled that the Bank of Ghana’s actions were lawful and consistent with Article 130 of the 1992 Constitution, dismissing allegations of illegality, unfair treatment, and discrimination.

Despite the setback, GN Savings and Loans proceeded to appeal the ruling, resulting in the latest judgment ordering the restoration of its licence and assets.