Ecobank Ghana Plc moved on Friday, May 16, 2026, to calm public fears following a Supreme Court ruling that confirmed it must pay businessman Daniel Ofori monthly compounded interest at 30 percent on an investment sum stretching back to 2008, ending an 18-year legal dispute that analysts say sets a significant precedent for Ghana’s banking industry.
The five-member Supreme Court panel, presided over by Justice Amadu Tanko, unanimously dismissed an application filed by Ecobank Ghana and the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) against Ofori over the computation of interest on an investment sum, ruling that Ofori was entitled to monthly compounded interest at 30 percent from June 2, 2008, to July 25, 2018, and thereafter simple interest at 13.34 percent until final payment.
The origins of the dispute trace to a share transaction on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Ofori, through broker Databank Brokerage, sold 14,310,000 CalBank shares to a buyer whose purchasing bank was Ecobank Ghana. Three days after the trade was executed, Databank presented for payment, but Ecobank, acting under pressure from the Bank of Ghana (BoG), which had intervened over concerns about the nature of the deal, refused to release the full payment. Ofori, however, had already committed GH¢6.16 million of those proceeds into an investment at Ecobank at the 30 percent interest rate, and the court’s ruling confirms he is entitled to that interest in full, compounded monthly.
The financial weight of that calculation is what has shaken analysts. Lawyer and political strategist Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, who described himself as a bystander, said private calculations he conducted produced figures so staggering he would not publish them, and warned that the implications for Ghana’s financial and judicial systems could be far-reaching. He noted that during proceedings the court had reportedly sought guidance from the BoG on interest computation, and that the central bank advised compound interest should ordinarily accrue annually rather than monthly, a position the Supreme Court did not follow.
Otchere-Darko urged Ecobank Ghana to issue a public statement to reassure customers, shareholders and the broader financial market. The bank responded with a brief three-paragraph statement on May 16.
“Our services continue without disruption,” the bank stated, adding that its financial position remained strong and resilient.
Ecobank Ghana operates 59 branches, 238 automated teller machines and 4,525 Xpress Point agents nationally and is 68.93 percent owned by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, a pan-African financial conglomerate headquartered in Lomé, Togo, with operations across 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The bank’s capacity to absorb the judgment is not in immediate doubt, but the case is now being watched closely by banking sector observers for the precedent it sets on how courts may compute compound interest in future commercial disputes.
The court awarded GH¢50,000 in costs in favour of Ofori, and indicated that the full reasons for its decision would be filed within seven days.
