Court orders GN Bank licence restored in major legal win over Bank of Ghana

The Court of Appeal has directed the Bank of Ghana to reinstate the operating licence of GN Bank, marking a significant reversal of an earlier High Court decision that had upheld the central bank’s revocation of the financial institution’s licence.

In its ruling, the three-member appellate panel also ordered that all assets belonging to GN Bank be returned to its original owners. Additionally, the court instructed the Receiver to immediately hand over management of the institution back to its former leadership team.

The decision represents a major turning point in the long-standing legal dispute between GN Bank and the Bank of Ghana, which stems from the 2018 banking sector clean-up exercise.

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Background to GN Bank’s Licence Revocation

GN Bank was initially downgraded to a savings and loans institution on January 4, 2019, and subsequently rebranded as GN Savings and Loans Company Limited.

Later that year, on August 16, 2019, the Bank of Ghana—then led by Governor Ernest Addison—revoked the company’s licence and appointed Eric Nana Nipah as Receiver to manage its operations.

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Following the decision, the owners of GN Savings and Loans, led by businessman Papa Kwesi Nduom, filed a lawsuit at the High Court in Accra on August 30, 2019, arguing that the revocation was unlawful, malicious, and unreasonable.

High Court Ruling in Favour of Bank of Ghana

On January 24, 2024, the High Court, presided over by Justice Gifty Addo Adjei, ruled in favour of the Bank of Ghana.

The court found that governance weaknesses had rendered GN Savings and Loans unable to meet its financial obligations and determined that the institution failed to prove it was solvent at the time its licence was revoked.

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Justice Addo Adjei further held that the central bank’s actions were lawful under Article 130 of the 1992 Constitution and dismissed claims that the regulator acted unfairly or illegally.

The court also rejected allegations of discrimination, noting that similar enforcement measures had been applied to other financial institutions during the sector-wide clean-up exercise.

The latest Court of Appeal ruling now reopens a major chapter in Ghana’s banking sector reforms, with far-reaching implications for regulatory authority and financial sector accountability.