Banking consultant Nana Otuo Acheampong says the legal battle surrounding GN Savings and Loans is far from over despite the Court of Appeal ruling restoring the company’s licence.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Thursday, May 21, Mr. Acheampong argued that the matter is likely to proceed to the Supreme Court because one of the parties involved is expected to challenge the latest ruling.

“To me, the case is not over. It will go to the Supreme Court,” he predicted.

According to him, the legal process surrounding the banking sector cleanup has involved several court actions over the years, making it unlikely that the matter would end at the Court of Appeal stage.

“As your colleague gave a history of these court cases, five in a row, I can hazard a guess that the last one will be back to the Supreme Court for them to decide on this issue,” he said.

Mr. Acheampong explained that the Bank of Ghana acted based on the legal framework that governed the financial sector cleanup exercise at the time.

He referenced the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), particularly Section 123, as the legal basis used by the central bank to resolve affected institutions.

According to him, GN Savings and Loans was not the only financial institution impacted during the cleanup exercise, noting that several universal banks, savings and loans companies, finance houses and microfinance institutions were also affected.

“It wasn’t only GN Savings and Loans that were resolved. There were some universal banks, some savings and loans, some finance houses, some microfinance institutions,” he stated.

He added that rural and community banks were the only category of institutions that were largely untouched during the exercise.

Mr. Acheampong cautioned against rushing to conclude that GN Savings and Loans would immediately resume operations following the Court of Appeal decision.

He said attention should first be focused on the legal outcome if the matter eventually reaches the Supreme Court.

His comments come after the Court of Appeal unanimously restored the licence of GN Savings and Loans after quashing an earlier High Court decision that upheld the revocation of the company’s licence during the banking sector cleanup exercise.

The appellate court ruled that the decision by the Bank of Ghana to revoke the licence was unfair and unreasonable and ordered the receiver to hand over management and control of the company’s assets and operations back to its shareholders.