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The story
The bank was established by the Government of Ghana in 1963, as a national development bank. Later, the bank was granted a commercial banking license by the Bank of Ghana, the national banking regulator.
In 2021, the government entrusted NIB Bank with a vital mission: to establish Ghana as the industrial hub of Africa. Hon Ken Ofori-Atta, in a statement to the NIB, encouraged the bank's Board of Directors to put in the effort needed to transform the bank into a profitable national asset. In 2020, the bank received a significant infusion of GHC 800 million to bolster its capital position. However, NIB could not meet its objective.
In July 2023, the bank underwent a comprehensive review to evaluate its sustainability as a state-owned financial institution. Dr. Ernest Addison highlighted that the bank, along with several other financial institutions, grappled with the challenge of being under-capitalized. This issue was part of the broader financial sector cleanup carried out in 2022.
The Government of Ghana contemplated a strategic move, suggesting that ADB might assume control of NIB to initiate a restructuring process. This decision arose from NIB's ongoing struggle to achieve profitability, leading to the realization that the government couldn't sustainably fund the bank any longer.
The decision has faced criticism from the minority group in parliament. They argue that since the Government already holds a majority stake of over 60% in ADB, the move to have ADB take over NIB raises concerns and questions about the practicality of the decision.
From Wikipedia’s article on National Investment Bank, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4