SSNIT increases stake in Société Générale Ghana to 24.36%

Société Générale has finalized plans to sell its majority stake in the Ghanaian subsidiary to Attijariwafa Bank, a Moroccan-based banking giant. This marks the end of the French bank's direct ownership in the country. The agreement will see Société Générale Group relinquish its entire 60.22% stake, with Attijariwafa acquiring 55.22% and Ghana's Social Security and National Insurance Trust, SSNIT, taking the remaining 5%.

The transaction is pending regulatory approvals, after which Attijariwafa Bank will assume the management of the bank's operations, including customers and employees. The deal comes after Société Générale Group announced in May 2024 that it was reviewing the future of its Ghanaian business, despite initial local management claims that no decision had been taken.

The Bank of Ghana had reported in March 2025 that interested buyers were engaging with the central bank regarding the sale. This move is part of a broader restructuring strategy by international banking groups across Africa, as they reassess profitability, risk, and the strategic alignment of their African subsidiaries with global operations.

In Ghana, this trend has already seen the winding up of Bank of Baroda in 2018, with Stanbic Bank taking over its deposits and selected loan assets. Standard Chartered, another international bank with operations in Ghana, is also considering selling its Wealth and Retail Banking business, though it plans to retain its Corporate and Investment Banking operations.

The sale is projected to take 18 to 24 months and is still subject to regulatory approval. As ownership structures shift, international banks are reducing their presence, but their businesses remain active in Ghana. Instead, ownership is increasingly transitioning towards African banking groups and local institutional investors.

While the Bank of Ghana still lists 23 universal banks, including Société Générale Ghana and Standard Chartered, the latest transactions have not yet altered the regulatory landscape until the completion of the deals.