Ghana’s Central Bank Suspends FX Trading Licence of First Bank

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The foreign exchange (FX) trading licence of FBN Bank Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has been suspended by the Bank of Ghana.

A statement issued on Monday by Ghana’s central bank disclosed that its action was because of the bank’s fraudulent documentation in its forex operations.

The country’s banking sector regulator also suspended the FX trading licence of GTBank Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Nigeria’s GTCO Plc, the parent company of GTBank Limited for the same offence.

The notice from the central bank disclosed that the licences of the two lenders would remain suspended for one month, effective March 18, 2024, in accordance with section 11 (2) of the Foreign Exchange Act 2006, (Act 723).

“Bank of Ghana has suspended the Foreign Exchange Trading Licences of Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana Limited (GTB) and FBNBank Ghana Limited (FBN), effective March 18, 2024, for a period of one (1) month, in accordance with section 11 (2) of the Foreign Exchange Act 2006, (Act 723).

“This is as a result of various breaches of the foreign exchange market regulations, including fraudulent documentation in their foreign exchange operations which have come to the attention of the Bank of Ghana.

“The licence will be restored at the end of the one-month suspension period once the Bank of Ghana is satisfied that they have put in place effective controls to ensure strict adherence to the foreign exchange market regulations.

“By this statement, we caution foreign exchange market players to adhere strictly to the applicable forex market regulations and guidelines,” the statement sighted by Business Post, which was dated Monday, March 4, 2024, stated.

This development comes almost three months after the Bank of Ghana barred eight money transfer organisations (MTOs) from offering remittance services without regulatory approval.

Recall that last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the operating licences of 4,173 Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators in the country over their failure to adhere to some guidelines.