The Ghana Armed Forces will start operating its own bank by the end of 2017, Chief of Defence Staff Lt. General O. B. Akwa disclosed on Tuesday, 2 November when Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul paid a two-day working visit to the Garrison unit of army personnel in Takoradi in the Western Region.

“As of now, we are satisfied and when the greenlight is given, before the end of year it will be operating,” Lt. General Akwa said, adding that: “…I want to give you this assurance that we have changed the governance system to ensure that [the military] High Command is represented adequately to ensure that your interest is also taken care of, and, by so saying, we have included the Forces’ Sergeant Major who is also a member of the Armed Forces Council on the board of this bank.”

“We are getting certified, seasoned bankers to be part of the board so this is a plot scheme, it is a bold venture, we think that the idea behind it is good and your interest will never be compromised,” he assured the military personnel.

The Bank of Ghana recently raised the minimum capital for banks from GHS120,000,000 to GHS400,000,000.

Lt. General Akwa said the Ghana Armed Forces will use its Provident Fund “as our seed capital.”

“The Ghana Armed Forces owns the majority share which is 75%,” he said. “We have contacted the Bank of Ghana, BoG has said that by their rules and regulations, we cannot have 100% shares because it is part of their laws that it should be diluted for another shareholder to be part of it, a certified group known as the Zara Group whose background has been also verified is for now holding that 25% but it is still possible to dilute that further so that we get a third shareholder on stream. We have done due diligence over the past eight months and we will monitor day by day and ensure that the project succeed.”

The process for the Ghana Armed Forces to operate its own bank started a few years ago. BoG granted GAF a licence in June 2016 to operate the Integrity Savings and Loans Company (SIS&L).