(1) A person shall not function as a financial holding company except in accordance with subsection (2), and sections 44 to 47.

(2) An action taken without the prior written approval of the Bank of Ghana which causes

(a) a company to become a financial holding company;

(b) a bank or specialised deposit-taking institution to become a subsidiary of a financial holding company;

(c) a financial  holding  company  to  acquire  direct  or  indirect ownership  or  control  of  the  voting  shares  of  a  bank or the acquisition, that company will directly or indirectly own or control more than five percent of the voting shares of that bank or specialised deposit-taking institution;

(d) a financial  holding  company  or  subsidiary  of  a  financial holding company, other than a bank or specialised deposit-taking  institution,  to acquire all or substantially  all of the assets of a bank or specialised deposit-taking institution; or

(e) a financial holding company to merge or consolidate with any other financial holding company is unlawful.

(3) The Bank of Ghana may exempt a foreign bank or other foreign company that is subject to regulation and supervision in another jurisdiction

(a) from inclusion in the definition of “financial holding company”, or

(b)  from the application of one or more of the provisions of this Act applicable to financial holding companies, where that foreign bank or other foreign company is subject to supervision and regulation that is satisfactory to the Bank of Ghana, including supervision on a consolidated basis, in its home jurisdiction or another host jurisdiction in which it has substantial operations.

(4) An exemption under subsection (3) may be subject to the terms and conditions that the Bank of Ghana considers appropriate having regard to the objectives of consolidated supervision or any other specialized supervision.