GHANA Law and Practice Contributed by: Adelaide Benneh Prempeh, Michelle Nana Yaa Essuman, David William Akuoko-Nyantakyi and Audrey Nana Oye Addy, B&P Associates
for a specified period. Where the SEC is satis - fied that a RA has obtained moneys without a licence or contrary to the terms of the licence of the person, the SEC has the power to instruct that RA to: • repay all the moneys obtained and the profits accruing to that person; • return assets acquired as a result of the ille - gally obtained moneys or deposits; or • pay any interest or other amounts which may be owed by that person in respect of those moneys, to the respective persons from whom the moneys were obtained. The SEC may also impose an administrative penalty of GHS6,000 (Section 209, Act 929) on any RA that operates without a licence or acts in violation of the restrictions in the licence. 4.6 Treatment of Securitisation in Financial Entities In Ghana, financial entities are highly regulated. Apart from the generally applicable security industry laws, institutions in the financial sector of Ghana may be subject to Banks, the Bank of Ghana in accordance with the Banks and Spe - cialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), Non-Bank Financial Institutions Act, 2008 (Act 774), Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987), the Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2020 (Act 773), Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723), the Development Finance Institutions Act, 2020 (Act 1032), Insurance Act, 2021 (Act 1061) and/or the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766) as amended. These laws provide for respective capital and liquidity requirements. In the absence of any direct law on securitisations, the general rules apply and there is no special treatment or con -
cession for securitisation transactions on the backdrop of the peculiar sector rules. 4.7 Use of Derivatives Ghana’s financial system is yet to evolve to incorporate the extensive use of derivatives. The SEC and the GSE are currently working on a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework that would make the development of a deriva - tives market possible. 4.8 Investor Protection The general laws that protect investors within the context of issued securities are the Compa - nies Act, 2019, (Act 992), Securities Industry Act, 2016 (Act 929) as amended, SEC Regulations, 2003 (LI 1728) and the GSE Listing Rules. In Ghana, investors have the right to be informed of the material facts, risks and costs associat - ed with any investment recommended or sold by the market operator, a representative, or an investment adviser. The primary investor protec - tion provisions are found in Act 929 and other relevant SEC regulations and directives. The penalties for non-compliance generally include the imposition of restrictions, imposition of administrative penalty units, or the suspension or revocation of a market operator’s licence by the SEC. Additionally, transactions that violate Act 929 may be declared by the courts to be void or voidable, and may give rise to both private and public enforcement. 4.9 Banks Securitising Financial Assets Ghana has no specific laws directly governing banks that securitise financial assets. However, the Bank of Ghana regulates banks under the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institu - tions Act, 2016 (Act 930). Banks participating in Ghana’s securities sector are also regulated by the Securities Industry Act, 2016 (Act 929),
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