Saving the ‘indigenous banks’: moral politics of economic sovereignty in Ghana’s 2017–19 financial crisis

Abstract Nine Ghanaian private banks collapsed during the country’s 2017–19 financial crisis. Apart from public audits that revealed liquidity problems and large portfolios of non-performing loans, crisis generated vibrant debate on ‘indigenous banks’ as integral to national economic sovereignty. At centre these debates was a contested central bank-led project inject equity in five struggling through special purpose vehicle (SPV), Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT). Set against historical dominance foreign West Africa Ghana’s recent history political fault lines, this article explores moral discourses popular discontents harnessing an SPV – device typically used isolate risk for desire African Drawing banking archives, fieldwork bank selected benefactor SPV, I focus contests value emerge when costly sector reforms meet critical doubts sincerity politicians bankers ‘reformers’. Arguing became category embedded abstractions finance nationalist discourse affect sentiment, illuminates long centring domestic ownership infrastructures postcolonial policymaking.