First National Bank Ghana, has formally announced that it has completed its acquisition of 100 percent of GHL Bank. Consequently, effective Wednesday, 6th May 2020, GHL Bank has become a wholly owned subsidiary of First National Bank Ghana.
This concludes an acquisition process begun in late 2018 in response to recapitalization requirements insisted on by the Bank of Ghana requiring commercial banks to have at least GHc400 million in tier one capital to retain their operating licenses in order to ensure that only financially solid banks are allowed to remain in business.
First National Bank Ghana Limited is indeed one of the strongest of the lot, being a wholly owned subsidiary of the FirstRand Group, the largest financial institution group, as measured by market capitalization, in Africa. It has already become reputed as a leading digital product and service driven bank in Ghana, a capacity which is proving crucially convenient for the banking public during the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic. GHL Bank Plc on its own part, is Ghana’s leading provider of mortgage financing. Combined, the two financial institutions are expected to be the cutting edge of financial intermediation in Ghana.
The transaction has been approved by the boards of the two banks and has received the required regulatory approvals from the Bank of Ghana and the South African Reserve Bank.
Says Richard Hudson, Chief Executive Officer of First National Bank Ghana: “Plans are well under way to merge the operations of the two banks. We further believe that this merger will demonstrate and further cement our commitment to the Ghanaian market. We recognize that the economy is under a lot of pressure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but we remain excited about the future of banking in Ghana.”
Customers of both banks are being advised to continue doing business with their current bankers (i.e. either First National Bank or GHL Bank).thus ensuring no disruption whatsoever to their banking relationships and ongoing contracts.
The just completed acquisition is the last of three resulting from the increased minimum capital requirement, but has created the most financially solid and capable financial institution among the three.
