Dr. Kwesi Nduom, the owner of the defunct GN Bank, has made a heartfelt plea to Dr. Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), urging him to reconsider the new evidence and reinstate GN Bank’s licence and restore its assets, which were revoked due to the bank’s declared insolvency.
In his appeal, Dr. Nduom emphasized the need for the BoG Governor to preserve GN Bank’s assets in good condition, asserting that they are ready to resume operations, indicating that the bank’s assets are still viable and could be revitalized if its licence is reinstated.
In 2018, the Bank of Ghana undertook measures to consolidate the banking sector, which included revoking the licences of several financial institutions, among them GN Bank. On June 14, 2019, the BoG justified its decision to revoke GN Bank’s licence, citing significant regulatory breaches. The Central Bank maintained that GN Bank failed to comply with critical financial regulations and banking standards, which threatened its operational stability. According to a statement issued in August 2019, GN Bank fell short in capital adequacy, liquidity, governance, and risk management requirements.
However, in a Facebook post on Sunday, June 23, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom vehemently disputed the Bank of Ghana’s assertion that GN Bank lacked sufficient capital adequacy. He implored Dr. Ernest Addison to reexamine the evidence presented in the 2019 GN Savings and Loans transition report, which he claims shows that the bank had sufficient funds in its accounts, contrary to the BoG’s claims.
“So, when people ask what do you want? All that we’re saying is that recognize that indeed there was more money there than was said to be. Just proof. Recognize the proof. Someone has said somewhere that give me new facts and I will change my mind. We have given and continue to give new facts to the BoG,” Nduom stated.
“All that we’re asking the Governor, Dr. Addison, is to take a look at the new facts, recognize them for what they are and give us back our licence, give us back our assets. Make sure the assets are in good condition, and let’s move on,” he continued.
“Even in the reclassified state as a savings and loans company, we are prepared to start working. And we know once all the accounting is done, once the funds start coming in, everybody will realize that the 305-branch network of GN Savings will deserve to become a universal bank—GN Bank again. That is it,” he added.
Nduom expressed his ambition to employ thousands of people if the bank’s licence is reinstated. “What we are looking for is to go back and put thousands of people back to work and 100s of branches, so that financial inclusion can resume.”
He also addressed the financial requirements for operating as a savings and loans company, stating, “For a savings and loans company, what you need is GHC15 million, that’s all. Even the GHC30.3 million that the finance ministry erroneously told the BoG that Group Nduom companies had, even if we took that money, and paid it, which still they haven’t paid. If they paid us and we paid into GN Savings, that would have been able to give us the capital required to continue on our savings and loans. But we said in our books, GHC2 million.
“In addition, we had properties and other related buildings including the many branch buildings put up by some of our companies. We said we would give it to the organization to shore its capital.
“It was all rejected, and these are the same buildings that BoG’s appointed receiver went around hurriedly to put locks on the gates and buildings and walked away. Left them to rot, all of those things still there.”
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