Societe Generale Group has signed an agreement with Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank, a Pan-African banking group, for the sale of its subsidiary, Societe Generale Ghana.
Under the agreement, Societe Generale Group will divest its entire 60.22% stake in Societe Generale Ghana.
Attijariwafa Bank will acquire a controlling 55.22% stake in the Ghanaian bank, while the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) will acquire a further 5% stake.
As part of the transaction, Attijariwafa Bank will take over all activities operated by Societe Generale Ghana, including its client portfolios and employees.
The transaction will result in the exit of Societe Generale Group from its ownership position in the Ghanaian subsidiary and bring a new strategic shareholder into the bank.
However, the proposed divestment remains subject to the fulfilment of the usual conditions precedent and approval by the relevant financial and regulatory authorities.
The completion of the transaction will therefore depend on the necessary regulatory and other approvals.
Islamic connections
Attijariwafa is a Moroccan commercial bank with an Islamic banking subsidiary called Bank Assafa.Â
That fact is fuelling speculation that the bank is interested in Ghana because of the recent approval of non-interest banking policy rolled out by the Bank of Ghana, which is consistent with the Islamic Sharia principles.
But Techfocus24 learnt from very reliable sources that discussions between Societe Generale and Attijariwafa Bank predates the implementation of the non-interest banking policy in Ghana.
According to the sources, negotiations has been in the works since the time of the previous government, but only recently go the greenlight. So, there could not have been any link with the non-interest banking policy recently implemented in Ghana.
Meanwhile, another matter of concern is the usual loss jobs and redundancy issues that come with such transactions. But again, Techfocus24 gathered that there is relative calm among workers at SG Ghana, as the sale is not likely to impact jobs.
