Barring any intervention, the ownership and shareholding of local banks participating in the Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) are at risk of being diluted.
This is the view of banking and financial analyst, Dr. Richmond Atuahene, who maintains that the once-hailed GAT is steadily eroding local ownership and control in some of the very institutions it was meant to save.
Dr. Richmond Atuahene warns that the structure of the Ghana Amalgamated Trust is gradually shifting ownership and control from original Ghanaian shareholders, placing significant equity in the hands of the special purpose vehicle, and by extension, institutional investors and the state.
From Rescue to Majority Control
An analysis by the financial analyst cited by The High Street Journal admits that the GAT scheme was created to recapitalise selected indigenous banks after the sector clean-up and to help them meet the minimum capital threshold set by the Bank of Ghana.
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However, the high and compounded interest model attached to the support has dramatically inflated the original capital injections.
In one case, reveals that an initial GHS243 million capital support has reportedly grown to about GHS632 million as of February 26, 2026.
As a result of the accumulating obligation and equity-linked structure, GAT now reportedly holds 75.8% ownership in that bank. This, he believes, signals a fundamental shift in control.
“GAT’s structure has forced indigenous shareholders to lose control of their institutions, with GAT (and by extension, the government) gaining significant equity. Today, in one of the indigenous banks, through annualization of high interest, equity-linked model,” Dr. Atuahene’s analysis indicated.
He added, “The initial GAT Capital Support was GHS243 million, on 26/02/2026 GAT had reached close to GHS 632 million as it is holding 75.8% in one of the banks that participated.”
Indigenous Banks at Risk
For Dr. Atuahene, when a rescue vehicle ends up owning more than three-quarters of a bank, questions naturally arise about who truly controls the institution.
Dr. Atuahene argues that instead of strengthening indigenous banks, the GAT model has diluted local shareholding to the point where original owners risk losing their institutions altogether if they are unable to buy GAT out of the arrangement.
This means the shareholders must raise substantial capital to reclaim ownership or accept permanent dilution and loss of influence.
Founders and long-standing investors who built these banks over decades may find this development deeply unsettling since their ownership and control are “under siege.”
“Existing shareholders may lose their banks if they are unable to buy GAT out of the scheme,” Dr. Atuahene bluntly noted in his analysis.
Compounding Pressure
The banking and financial consultant explains that the threat to ownership is tied directly to the compounding structure of the funding.
As unpaid capital continues to grow annually at a high rate, the equity position of GAT correspondingly strengthens. What started as temporary Tier 2 capital support has, critics argue, evolved into a mechanism that steadily transfers control.
Aside from the threat to ownership and shareholding, Dr. Atuahene observes that the ballooning obligations are also affecting day-to-day banking operations. Heavy outstanding liabilities reduce profitability, constrain lending capacity, and limit the banks’ ability to compete effectively in the market.
Instead of acting as growth capital, the support has become a recurring financial weight.
“Rather than providing capital support, the GAT intervention has been described as having worsened the financial positions of beneficiary banks, hindering their ability to be solvent, as well as being competitive, and ability to support the local economy,” he noted.
The Bottomline
While GAT was designed to stabilise the sector, Dr. Atuahene now fears that its structure may permanently alter the ownership landscape of Ghana’s indigenous banking industry.
As obligations deepen and equity stakes shift, existing shareholders and owners are sitting on tenterhooks, torn between raising significant capital to outpace GAT or waiting for governmental intervention.
