Ghana

Rules in placeChecked 2026-11-14 · confidence high

The Bank of Ghana issued a non-interest banking guideline dated 13 January 2026, and the SEC issued sukuk guidelines on 7 September 2026. No licence had been granted as of the latest reports: the Bank of Ghana said in September 2026 that it was assessing two applications.

Five checks

Banking rulesFound

The Bank of Ghana Guideline for the Regulation and Supervision of Non-Interest Banking is dated 13 January 2026. It requires a Bank of Ghana licence for non-interest banking. It covers full non-interest banks or development banks, rural and community banks, specialised deposit-taking institutions, microfinance institutions, non-interest windows of conventional banks, and non-interest foreign subsidiaries. Fintech companies with non-interest products must work through a licensed institution. An exposure draft was published in December 2025.

  • “10. No person shall carry on the business of NIB unless licensed by the Bank.”
    Bank of Ghana · 2026-01-13
  • “e. Non-interest window of a conventional banking institution”
    Bank of Ghana · 2026-01-13
Licensed banks and windowsNot found
  • “The BoG has received two applications for non-interest banking (NIB) licences.”
    Bank of Ghana · 2026-09 (uploaded Oct 2026)
  • “the Bank has received three licence applications”
    Ghana News Agency · 2026-11-11 · secondary
Sukuk issuedNot checked
  • “GOVERNMENT’S ISSUANCE CALENDAR FOR OCTOBER TO DECEMBER 2026”
    Bank of Ghana · 2026-10
Takaful (non-interest insurance)Not checked

The Bank of Ghana guideline (para 150) says the SEC and the National Insurance Commission (NIC) will issue complementary guidance on sukuk and takaful. We found no NIC takaful rule and no licensed takaful operator.

  • “Takaful (Islamic insurance) shall be issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and National Insurance Commission (NIC)”
    Bank of Ghana · 2026-01-13
Capital market rulesFound

SEC Ghana issued the Securities Industry (Sukuk Issuance) Guidelines 2026 (ref SEC/GUI/002/09/2026) on 7 September 2026. They cover structuring, documentation, governance and disclosure for sukuk offered in Ghana or listed on a Ghanaian exchange, and require consistency with principles approved by AAOIFI, IFSB or another standard setter recognised by the SEC.

Recent developments

  1. 2025-12Bank of Ghana published an exposure draft of the non-interest banking guideline for comment (file name suggests 9 Dec 2025). source
  2. 2026-01-13Final BoG Guideline for the Regulation and Supervision of Non-Interest Banking dated and published. source
  3. 2026-09-07SEC Ghana issued the Securities Industry (Sukuk Issuance) Guidelines 2026. source
  4. 2026-09BoG said it had received two NIB licence applications (one full-fledged bank, one window) and had inaugurated the Non-Interest Financial Advisory Council (NIFAC); first licence expected once assessments are complete. source
  5. 2026-11-11Governor's remarks (read by an adviser) reported three licence applications under review; no licence reported issued (secondary). source

Rules explained

In Ghana, late-payment penalties must go to charity

Bank of Ghana, para 55

In Ghana, a bank can open a non-interest window without new capital

Bank of Ghana, para 25

In Ghana, savers must be told in writing that they carry the loss

Bank of Ghana, paras 97 to 100

Still open

Points we could not confirm at source yet.

  • Application count differs: the Bank of Ghana bulletin (September 2026) says two; GNA (11 Nov 2026) reports three. Neither names the applicants.
  • Has a first non-interest banking licence been issued after 11 Nov 2026? Recheck Bank of Ghana notices.
  • NIC takaful guidance: not found; the NIC document library could not be read in full.
  • Sukuk: no Ghanaian sukuk issue was found, and the Bank of Ghana's Oct-Dec 2026 issuance calendar lists none, but the SEC's approvals were not checked, so the check stays open.
  • NIFAC inauguration date: one secondary report says 18 Aug 2026; the Bank of Ghana bulletin confirms the inauguration but gives no date.
Where we searched
  • bog.gov.gh: final guideline PDF (downloaded and searched), exposure draft listing, news page, September 2026 media Q&A bulletin, Oct-Dec 2026 government issuance calendar (no sukuk listed)
  • sec.gov.gh: Sukuk Issuance Guidelines 2026 PDF
  • nic.gov.gh: home and guidelines pages downloaded on 14 Nov 2026; no takaful text found, but the guidelines library loads its documents by script and could not be read in full
  • Web searches for any Ghanaian sukuk issuance (government or corporate) and for NIC takaful rules: none found
  • News: Ghana News Agency (Oct and Nov 2026); Citi Newsroom, Graphic, MyJoyOnline, Ghana Business News used as leads