Société Générale Ghana has denied reports that the bank is currently in negotiations with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for it to buy the trust’s remaining shares in the bank.
Upon its incorporation on 7 February 1975, it was a private limited liability company with the name Security Guarantee Trust Limited and was solely owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
It was granted license to operate as a bank by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) in September of 1976 with the name Social Security Bank Limited.
The bank in 1995 merged with the National Savings & Credit Bank and retained the name Social Security Bank Ltd.
SSNIT however divested 20% of its share holding in the Bank in 1995.
A consortium made up of Blakeney Management Corporation UK, Morgan Stanley, Quantum (Soros) Emerging Market Investment Corporation and others, bought 52% of SSB Bank’s issued shares in 1997.
Société Générale, one of the largest banks in the world acquired controlling shares in the bank in 2003 with the bank and officially becoming SG-SSB Ltd in 2004.
Its original majority owner, SSNIT, now has 22.14 percent stake in the bank.
Finance Minister, Seth Tekper was recently questioned in parliament over reports that SSNIT had made moves to sell its remaining stake in the bank.
But managing director of the French owned bank Gilbert Hie expressed surprise with the reports because the bank has not been approached by the state pension fund manager on the matter.
“There is absolutely nothing like that, it is only gossip, we have never had any such talks. All these speculations are coming after the question from the commission to the minister of finance and definitely there is nothing like that,” he said.
Speaking to Citi Business News after the bank commissioned its new office building, Managing Director, Gilbert Hie said they will continue to work with SSNIT as one of their major shareholders.
He said: “I’m sure that SSNIT is very happy to be a shareholder in this bank, and this it is not something that has come up. These are only speculations, they are not true, there has been no discussions with SSNIT.”
By: Vivian Kai Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana