Court of Appeal Reverses Bank of Ghana’s Revocation of GN Savings License

By Boakye Stephen Kumasi, Ghana | Reporting for Ghanaian News, Canada | May 21, 2026

ACCRA, GHANA — In a major legal victory for Groupe Nduom shareholders, Ghana’s Court of Appeal has unanimously overturned the revocation of GN Savings and Loans Company Limited’s operating license, ending a multi-year legal battle against the central bank.

A three-member panel of appellate justices ruled that the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) 2019 decision to withdraw the specialized deposit-taking institution’s license was both “unfair and unreasonable.” In doing so, the Court of Appeal quashed an earlier High Court judgment that had originally validated the central bank’s actions.

Immediate Return of Assets Ordered

In addition to restoring the company’s license, the appellate court issued a decisive order directing the appointed Receiver to immediately hand back the possession, management, and operational control of GN Savings’ assets to its shareholders.

The legal dispute dates back to August 2019, when the Bank of Ghana, under the leadership of Governor Dr. Ernest Addison, revoked the licenses of 23 savings and loans companies and finance houses. The sweeping closures were part of a broader banking sector “clean-up” exercise aimed at weeding out insolvent institutions and stabilizing Ghana’s financial sector.

A Long-Standing Dispute Over Solvency

At the time of the closure, the BoG declared GN Savings—which had been reclassified from GN Bank Limited just months prior—to be severely insolvent.

However, the company’s foundational chairman, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, and its corporate shareholders vehemently contested the ruling. The owners argued that the central bank maliciously ignored massive, certified debts owed to Groupe Nduom and its contractors by the Government of Ghana and its Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). They maintained that if the state had disbursed the hundreds of millions of Cedis it owed for completed infrastructure projects, GN Savings would have remained highly liquid and compliant.

While an Accra High Court dismissed those arguments in January 2024, the Court of Appeal’s unanimous reversal vindicates the shareholders’ long-held stance that the regulatory intervention bypassed administrative fairness.

Representatives for Groupe Nduom have historically maintained that the preservation of the institution is vital to restoring local jobs and securing the trapped funds of thousands of Ghanaian depositors. Neither the Bank of Ghana nor the Receiver has issued an immediate statement regarding whether they intend to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.