By Nkunimdini ASANTE-ANTWI
By the first week of June, 2026, the Shareholders and Directors of every Microfinance company, Savings and Loans, Finance House, and Micro-Credit Company, should be ready with a draft Letter of Intent (LOI) addressed to the Bank of Ghana, specifying the strategic pathway they wish to pursue under the current revised microfinance sector framework. For Rural and Community Banks, the transition seems to be only administrative, particularly for those whose Core Equity Tier 1 capital exceed the GH¢5 million threshold required for a Community Bank License.
The same goes for the other providers who carry monstrous balance sheets or have deep access to private capital markets, whether HNWIs or Institutional investors. Whatever the case, there are only 3 transitional pathways to regulatory compliance as far as meeting the new minimum capital is concerned. Figure 1-8 provides a graphical illustration to guide Board decision-making the first Board meeting of the year in Q1 2026.
The real impact of the microfinance sector reforms will be proven post-FY 2026, after the new Microfinance Banks, Community Banks and Credit Unions have transitioned and settled comfortably in the new environment. Shareholders and Directors have to recognize that being a bank is a different ball game. Unlike previously, the Bank of Ghana would not be as accommodating in applying the principle of proportionality to enforce compliance with regulatory directives.
In part two of this article, I will lay out in detail the potential cultural shocks that the new institutions, especially Microfinance Banks, should expect post-2026. I will be discussing issues such as; fitness and propriety of Key Management Personnel, governance disclosures, capital planning, balance sheet stress-testing, risk management frameworks (3-lines of Defence), and anti-money laundering mechanisms, amongst others.
The author is a fellow at Yieldera Policy Institute, a think tank focused on the financial sector. He is also the founder of Metis Decisions Limited, a management consulting firm that specializes in strategy, governance and risk advisory. Services include: Board Training, Board Evaluation, Risk Management Program Development, and M&A Advisory. For more info visit http://metisdecisions.com | Phone: 0242564143
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