BY Nadia Ntiamoah
The legal battle over the revocation of the operating licence of GN Savings and Loans Company Limited has taken another dramatic turn after the Supreme Court ordered a stay of execution of the Court of Appeal’s decision that restored the company’s licence.
The apex court’s latest ruling effectively suspends the implementation of the Court of Appeal’s orders until the substantive case before it is finally determined.
The decision means GN Savings and Loans Company Limited cannot proceed with plans to resume operations or enforce the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal in May 2026, which had restored its operating licence and directed the Receiver to hand over the company’s assets, management and control back to its shareholders.
The latest development marks another significant chapter in one of the most closely watched legal disputes arising from the 2019 banking sector clean-up, during which dozens of banks, savings and loans companies, finance houses and microfinance institutions lost their licences under the supervision of the Bank of Ghana.
In May this year, the Court of Appeal unanimously overturned an earlier High Court ruling that had upheld the revocation of GN Savings and Loans’ licence.
A three-member panel of the appellate court found that the Bank of Ghana’s decision to revoke the company’s licence was unfair and unreasonable, setting aside the High Court’s judgment and restoring the licence.
The Court of Appeal further ordered the Receiver appointed over the company to immediately surrender possession, management and control of the company’s assets and operations to its shareholders, paving the way for the company to begin preparations to resume business.
Following that landmark judgment, GN Savings and Loans publicly announced plans to restart operations, while Groupe Nduom Chairman Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom described the ruling as a victory for the rule of law and urged stakeholders to support efforts to rebuild the company.
However, that process has now been temporarily halted after the Supreme Court granted an application staying the execution of the Court of Appeal’s orders until all outstanding legal issues are conclusively resolved.
The dispute dates back to January 4, 2019, when GN Bank Limited was downgraded to a savings and loans institution and renamed GN Savings and Loans Company Limited as part of regulatory reforms introduced by the Bank of Ghana.
Barely seven months later, on August 16, 2019, the Bank of Ghana, under then Governor Dr. Ernest Addison, revoked the operating licence of GN Savings and Loans Company Limited during the financial sector clean-up exercise, citing insolvency and governance concerns.
The Central Bank subsequently appointed Eric Nana Nipah as Receiver to oversee the affairs of the institution.
The revocation prompted Groupe Nduom, led by businessman Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, to challenge the decision at the High Court in Accra.
The suit, filed against the Bank of Ghana, the Attorney-General and the Receiver, argued that the revocation violated the company’s constitutional rights and principles of administrative justice.
Dr. Nduom’s legal team, led at the time by Justice Srem-Sai, argued that the Central Bank’s actions were unlawful and amounted to a violation of the company’s fundamental human rights.
The lawyers also opposed preliminary objections by the Bank of Ghana and the Attorney-General, who had argued that the High Court lacked jurisdiction because the dispute ought to have been referred to arbitration.
The High Court, however, dismissed the application. In her judgment, Justice Gifty Addo Adjei held that the Bank of Ghana acted lawfully in revoking the company’s licence after determining that it could no longer meet its financial obligations due to weak governance structures and liquidity challenges.
The court further ruled that the applicants had failed to prove that GN Savings and Loans was solvent at the time its licence was revoked. It rejected allegations that the Bank of Ghana acted with malice or breached principles of administrative justice, concluding instead that the Central Bank had exercised its statutory mandate fairly and reasonably.
Justice Addo Adjei also dismissed claims that GN Savings and Loans had been discriminated against, noting that several other financial institutions suffered similar regulatory actions during the banking sector reforms.
The court held that although the company argued that government indebtedness had contributed to its financial challenges, any claims regarding outstanding government payments should be pursued separately through the appropriate legal channels.
Unhappy with the High Court’s decision, Dr. Nduom, represented by lawyer Cletus Alengah, appealed to the Court of Appeal, which eventually ruled in his favour and restored the company’s licence.
That victory has now been put on hold following the Supreme Court’s latest intervention, leaving the future of GN Savings and Loans dependent on the apex court’s final determination of the substantive legal issues surrounding the revocation of its licence.
Until that decision is delivered, the Receiver remains in control of the institution, while implementation of the Court of Appeal’s judgment remains suspended.
