“We don’t want to be surprised.”

Societe Generale Ghana Head Office in Accra

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, has responded to rumors that Societe Generale operations are withdrawing from the Ghanaian banking sector.

The governor said the Central Bank is yet to receive formal information regarding the alleged exit and next steps of SG Bank, both from its group and the Accra headquarters.

Addressing journalists at the 118th press conference of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in Accra on Monday, May 27, Dr Addison said: “This is an area where we have not formally received no information from the SG, whether from his group or from the office. in Accra.”

“I had discussions with their office in Ivory Coast and I complained that we did not want to be surprised,” he stressed.

The Central Bank Governor also informed the management of Societe Generale Ghana that the apex bank would not want to be caught off guard by any surprises regarding the list of persons or entities interested in acquiring shares in the bank.

“We are hearing things in the air and we want to see the long list of those who are interested in acquiring their shares, we don’t even want to see the short list. So I expressed these concerns to their representatives in their office of Ivory Coast and hopefully we will hear something from the group very soon,” Dr Addison said.

In May this year, Societe Generale Ghana said it had been informed by Societe Generale Group that a strategic review of operations in the country had been initiated.

In a press release cited by GhanaWeb Business, he noted that “should any concrete development be decided, further communication will be made at the appropriate time in accordance with applicable legislation.”

Before this, Société Générale Ghana had denied rumors of an exit from the Ghanaian banking sector.

This speculation, which suggested a withdrawal after two decades of activity, was described as unfounded by the bank’s Managing Director, Hakim Ouzzani, during the 44th Annual General Meeting held in Accra.

Ouzzani stressed that this information did not come from the bank.

“Some rumors have indeed taken root regarding SG Ghana. But it is important to mention to all our stakeholders and shareholders that the news circulating in the media was neither issued by the group nor by SG Ghana.

“We do not want to make any further comments. But in reality, I insist that the newspapers are not from SG, they are not from SG Ghana,” he said amid questions from shareholders on the alleged withdrawal.

The French bank first entered the Ghanaian market by acquiring a 51 percent stake in what was then the Social Security Bank in 2003.