Heritage, Premium, GN Banks to Merge

Three local banks, Heritage Bank, GN Bank and Premuim Bank are in merger talks ahead of the 31 December 2018 deadline given by the Bank of Ghana for all commercial banks to recapitalise to GHS400m.

The three banks have already notified the Bank of Ghana (BoG) of their merger talks and waiting for the regulator’s approval so they can conclude their negotiations.

Heritage Bank has established at least seven branches, with four in Accra (Airport City, East Legon, Dzorwulu, Abossey Okai), two in Kumasi (Adum and Suame-Magazine) and one in Tema, within its short period of operations.

According to reports, GN Bank is spearheading the new move to bring Heritage bank on board and the transaction is being led by Gold Coast Fund Management, a subsidiary of Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom’s Groupe Nduom.

In a related development, Omnibank and Sahel Sahara bank are hopeful meetings of meeting the new minimum capital requirement by December 2018.

The two banks which are in a process to merge say their hopeful that the stronger bank to be created will support the country’s financial sector.

Following the Bank of Ghana’s, no objection to the merger on August 14, 2018; the two banks have since signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to govern their intention to merge.

They have also commenced the process to meet all requirements for final approval by the central bank.

According to the two banks, the merger, when finally completed, will position the new entity as a major player in the banking industry to support private sector growth and Ghana’s development agenda.

Some of the key things that they have to meet before final approval from the central bank include; ensuring that only fit and proper persons shall own and manage the institutions as well as comply with all applicable regulatory requirements and other prudential norms of the Bank of Ghana.