A former Director of UMB Bank, George Smith-Graham
A former Director of UMB Bank, George Smith-Graham, has made public his decision to contest a ruling of the High Court upholding the decision of the central bank to revoke his appointment as a director of the bank.
According to him, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) abused its powers under the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, Act 930 and the Corporate Governance Directive 2018.
He added that Act 930 does not allow the BoG to revoke his appointment.
“My lawyers have advised me, and I believe this to be true, that the BoG cannot use a letter to amend the requirements of Act 930 and the Corporate Governance Directives, 2018 as it sought to do in this case. This overreach by the BoG is not only unlawful but also threatens the stability of the banking sector. The BoG has been abusing the approval process for directors and key management personnel, instilling fear among industry professionals,” he said in a press release made available to GhanaWeb Business.
Reacting to the ruling by the High Court upholding the decision of the BoG to revoke his appointment, Smith-Graham said the court failed to consider the core legal issue of contention in its ruling.
He said, “The High Court failed or neglected to address the essential legal issue of whether the BoG could, by a letter, impose additional requirements on banks to seek 'no objection' from the BoG when such requirements are not contained in Act 930 or the Corporate Governance Directives, 2018.
“It is crucial to emphasise that regulatory bodies such as the BoG should not use administrative letters to amend or override the provisions of an Act of Parliament or legal instructions such as the Corporate Governance Directives, 2018. Allowing such letters, mischievously labelled as directives, to stand would gravely affect the operations of banks.”
He also said he believes that the decision, if made to stand, will be a great threat to the banking sector and, therefore, vowed to appeal the High Court’s decision.
Read his full statement, plus a copy of the BoG statement from 2022 below:
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