Omnibank and Sahel Sahara bank are hopeful meeting 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.
Again, the two banks must indicate to the regulator, the profitability and long-term viability of the combined institution, plan for reorganization of the branches of the combined institution as well as plan for staff rationalization which must include strategies for staff downsizing if any.
Sahel Sahara bank resorted to its merger with Omnibank after it exited from an earlier merger plan with Premium Bank and GN Bank.
Some brief facts about Omnibank and Sahel Sahara bank and the two banks together have 46 branches spread across the country with about 150,000 customers.
Together, they have total asset size of 1.22 billion cedis with permanent staff strength of 614.
Citibusiness
