The Ghana Securities and Exchange Commission issued the Securities Industry (Financial Resources) Guidelines 2025, setting out ongoing financial resources requirements for licensed market operators, including how firms must calculate liquid capital using prescribed asset haircuts and liability treatments. The Guidelines apply to any person licensed as a market operator and require operators to maintain minimum paid-up share capital (as prescribed under the Securities Industry (Licensing) Guidelines 2020) and liquid capital that is not less than required liquid capital. Schedule 1 sets minimum required liquid capital by activity, including GHS 5,000,000 for a securities exchange, GHS 750,000 for a broker-dealer, GHS 15,000,000 for a custodian, securities depository, clearing house or registrar, and GHS 200,000,000 for a primary dealer. Liquid capital is defined as liquid assets minus ranking liabilities, and the computation must follow the format in Schedule 2; the framework also requires minimum liquid funds equal to the highest of 50% of the minimum capital requirement, 25% of the expense base (average of the last three years’ expenses per audited financial statements) or 10% of adjusted liabilities (which includes a 5% add-on of average revenue to cover operational risk). Operators must monitor liquidity, top up within five business days of a shortfall, and notify the Commission immediately when liquid funds fall below the minimum, with penalties of 200 penalty units per day for continued default and licence suspension if default exceeds 30 days. Transitional provisions require existing market operators to comply within three months of the commencement date, with phased minimum liquidity compliance of 50% by December 2025, 75% by June 2026 and 100% by December 2026, while newly licensed operators are expected to meet liquidity requirements immediately upon licensing. The Guidelines also set notification and reporting obligations, including monthly returns within 15 days of month-end and quarterly returns within 21 days of period-end, to be submitted in paper and electronic form via a Commission-approved online system and signed by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Finance Officer.
Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana2025-08-12
Ghana Securities and Exchange Commission issues 2025 financial resources guidelines setting liquid capital floors including GHS 200,000,000 for primary dealers
The Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana released the Securities Industry (Financial Resources) Guidelines 2025, detailing financial resource requirements for licensed market operators. The guidelines specify minimum liquid capital thresholds by activity, such as GHS 5,000,000 for a securities exchange and GHS 200,000,000 for a primary dealer, and outline the calculation of liquid capital and monitoring obligations. Operators must comply with phased liquidity requirements by December 2026, facing penalties for non-compliance.