The Court of Appeal has overturned an earlier High Court ruling and directed the Bank of Ghana to restore the operating licence of GN Bank, marking a major twist in the long‑running legal battle over the 2018 banking sector clean‑up.
In its judgment, the three‑member panel ordered that all assets belonging to the institution be returned to their original owners and instructed the Receiver to hand management back to the bank’s previous leadership team.
GN Bank, reclassified as a savings and loans company in January 2019 and later renamed GN Savings and Loans, had its licence revoked by the central bank in August 2019 under then‑Governor Ernest Addison. Eric Nana Nipah was appointed as Receiver. The owners, led by Papa Kwesi Nduom, challenged the decision, describing it as unlawful and carried out in bad faith.
The High Court, presided over by Justice Gifty Addo Adjei, dismissed that challenge in January 2024, ruling that governance lapses had undermined GN’s ability to meet its obligations and that the Bank of Ghana acted lawfully and fairly in line with constitutional provisions.
Despite that setback, GN pursued the matter further, maintaining that the revocation breached legal requirements. The latest Court of Appeal ruling vindicates that position, reopening the debate over the central bank’s sweeping reforms and their impact on financial institutions.
