The Bank of Ghana (BoG) is preparing to issue a new directive aimed at restoring governance integrity within foreign-owned banks operating in the country. At the heart of the move is a call for local boards to exercise genuine oversight and decision-making power rather than merely endorsing instructions handed down from offshore headquarters.
In an address during the post-124th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) engagement with bank CEOs, BoG Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama condemned what he described as the creeping practice of outsourcing material credit and risk decisions to parent entities abroad.
“Let me state clearly: Ghana-based boards must not serve as rubber stamps for instructions issued from offshore. This undermines the very basis of effective governance and creates unacceptable regulatory blind spots.”
According to Dr. Asiama, a growing number of multinational banks with operations in Ghana are circumventing local governance structures. Core decisions, particularly around credit risk and capital deployment, are increasingly being made externally, with local boards simply asked to ratify them after the fact.
This practice, he warned, creates the illusion of local accountability while leaving the Bank of Ghana powerless to supervise decisions that directly affect the domestic financial system.
To curb this, the BoG’s directive will lay out expectations for all banks operating within its jurisdiction.
The central bank will also consider fitness and propriety reviews for board members found abdicating their fiduciary duties, potentially disqualifying them from holding leadership positions within the banking sector.
Directive Tied to Broader Reforms
Dr. Asiama linked this forthcoming directive to the BoG’s wider regulatory modernization agenda, including the Outsourcing Directive, which takes effect on July 1, 2025. This regulation will scrutinize outsourcing arrangements, especially those involving customer data, credit assessments, and management oversight to ensure they meet Ghana’s legal and supervisory standards.
“Institutions are reminded to review all outsourcing arrangements, including those involving data, credit assessments, and management control to ensure they meet our supervisory expectations for accountability and resilience,” he emphasized.
He cautioned that offshoring critical functions can compromise supervisory integrity, breach data protection laws (notably the Data Protection Act, Act 843), and hinder talent development by depriving local professionals of leadership opportunities.
“This is Not Anti-Foreign. It is Pro-Accountability.”
Dr. Asiama was unequivocal in stating that the directive is not an attack on foreign ownership, but a necessary measure to uphold the credibility and resilience of Ghana’s financial system.
“This directive is not anti-foreign. It is pro-accountability. It is about ensuring that all banks operating in Ghana, regardless of ownership, are governed in ways that reflect the interests of this market, its regulators, and its people,” he said.
“We welcome global capital and expertise but we cannot accept governance frameworks that strip Ghana-based boards of meaningful responsibility. The integrity of our financial system depends on strong, accountable institutions and those institutions must be rooted here.”
