French Société Générale Group has agreed to sell its entire 60.22% stake in Société Générale Ghana, with Attijariwafa Bank taking 55.22% and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) acquiring the remaining 5%, according to press reports.
The deal, announced on October 1, is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. Once completed, Attijariwafa will take over the bank’s activities, customers and employees.
This new acquisition will enable the Moroccan banking group to expand in English-speaking markets in West Africa, after building an extended presence in a number of other African markets over the past years.
The Ghanian subsidiary of Société Générale is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange in Accra, and has a network of 40 agencies spread across 24 cities across the country, employing more than 500 employees.
The Bank provides various services including consumer loans, factoring, financial leasing, treasury management, and exchange risk coverage for the benefit of its individual and contracting customers.
Attijariwafa has solid experience in African banking. The Moroccan group has built a network across the continent, particularly in West Africa, and operates across banking and other financial services.
The group has more than 12 million customers and 22,052 employees across 27 countries, according to its latest financial report. The Bank operates in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Togo, Benin, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Attijariwafa has made intra-African trade and cross-border business its core strategy.
Through its Africa Development Club, the group connects businesses, investors and financial operators across African markets. The club says it has brought together more than 12,000 participants from 36 countries and facilitated more than 28,300 business meetings.
For Ghanaian companies, particularly those looking beyond the domestic market, that network could create opportunities for closer financial links with businesses in other parts of West Africa.
Attijariwafa has a broad financial-services platform covering corporate and investment banking, project finance, trade finance, cash management, factoring, leasing, asset management, insurance and other specialized services.