Société Générale has agreed to sell its majority stake in its Ghanaian subsidiary to Attijariwafa Bank, a Morocco-based banking group. This move marks the end of the French banking group's direct ownership of the business. The agreement involves Société Générale Group selling its entire 60.22% stake in Société Générale Ghana.
Under the terms of the deal, Attijariwafa Bank will acquire 55.22% of Société Générale Ghana, while Ghana's Social Security and National Insurance Trust, SSNIT, will take the remaining 5%. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, after which Attijariwafa Bank will take over the bank's operations, including its customers and employees.
The decision to sell Société Générale's Ghanaian business follows an announcement in May 2024 that the group was reviewing its future in the country. Initially, local management dismissed reports of a departure, but the group later confirmed that it had begun a strategic review of its 60.22% holding.
The Bank of Ghana had indicated in March 2025 that prospective buyers were already engaging with the central bank over the sale. Société Générale's departure from Ghana is part of a broader restructuring by international banking groups across Africa. Several French and British banks, including Société Générale, Standard Chartered, and Barclays, have been reducing their exposure to various African markets.
In Ghana, this trend has already led to Bank of Baroda winding up its operations in 2018, with Stanbic Bank taking over its deposits and selected loan assets. Standard Chartered has also announced plans to explore the sale of its Wealth and Retail Banking business in Ghana, although it intends to retain its Corporate and Investment Banking operations.
The proposed sale of Société Générale's Ghanaian business is expected to take between 18 and 24 months and remains subject to regulatory approval. Despite some international groups scaling back, their businesses are not necessarily disappearing from Ghana. Instead, ownership is increasingly moving towards African banking groups and local institutional investors.
The changing ownership structure is reflected in the fact that Attijariwafa Bank is a Moroccan pan-African banking group, while SSNIT is a Ghanaian state institution. The Bank of Ghana's current register still lists 23 universal banks, including Société Générale Ghana and Standard Chartered, meaning the latest transactions have not yet changed the regulatory structure until the necessary approvals and completion of the deals.
Key points
- Société Générale sells 60.22% stake in Ghanaian subsidiary to Attijariwafa Bank and SSNIT.
- The deal is part of a broader restructuring by international banking groups across Africa.
- The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to take 18-24 months.
