Researcher and data analyst Eric Akwetey Addo says the Court of Appeal’s decision ordering the restoration of GN Savings and Loans’ licence has reignited public debate over Ghana’s banking sector cleanup, with renewed criticism directed at former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

However, as the dust settles, Addo argues that analysts and observers should be asking a more fundamental question: who was actually responsible for the collapse of the nearly 400 financial institutions affected?

According to Addo, the authority to supervise financial institutions and revoke licences rests solely with the Bank of Ghana under Ghana’s banking laws.

“The decisions to revoke licences during the banking sector cleanup were taken by the Bank of Ghana in the exercise of its statutory mandate,” he noted. “Ken Ofori-Atta neither possessed the legal authority to revoke banking licences nor signed the revocation notices.”

Instead, he points out that available records indicate the former Finance Minister’s role was focused on mobilising billions of cedis to protect depositors and preserve confidence in the financial system after the revocations.

Addo argues that much of the public debate ignores the governance and financial breaches that triggered regulatory intervention, including capital adequacy violations, liquidity challenges, related-party transactions, and the inability of some institutions to meet customer obligations.

GN Savings and Loans, he noted, faced serious concerns, including reported difficulties in paying staff salaries and honouring customer cheques, warning signs that posed systemic risks if left unaddressed.

“Confidence is the lifeblood of banking,” Addo stated. “Had the Bank of Ghana failed to intervene, panic could have spread across the sector.”

Before the revocations, he explained, the Bank of Ghana injected substantial liquidity support into struggling institutions, ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of cedis in some cases.

“Why would government inject billions to save institutions it supposedly wanted to destroy? Intervention began with rescue efforts, not licence revocation,” he questioned.

Addo further noted that the cleanup affected banks, savings and loans companies, microfinance institutions, and other deposit-taking entities with diverse ownership structures and political affiliations.

“Are we seriously expected to believe an exercise affecting nearly 400 institutions was designed solely to target one individual?” he asked, adding that international institutions such as the IMF and World Bank had also flagged vulnerabilities and supported reforms.

He warned that recent reports of withdrawal challenges at Equity Savings and Loans highlight the importance of early regulatory intervention. When confidence erodes, ordinary Ghanaians suffer first, he said, as businesses stall, savings are at risk, and trust in the financial system weakens.

Addo concluded that Ghana’s financial future depends less on political blame games and more on strengthening governance, supervision, and accountability within the sector.