It is said that ‘dead men don’t talk’ but the Member of Parliament for Assin Central Constituency has advised the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Kofi Wampah, to be prudent regarding the proposed sale of Merchant Bank to FORTIZ since his corpse will even be exhumed to answer for his actions.
Hon. Kennedy Agyapong is questioning the rationale in the haste in selling off the assets of Merchant Bank to FOTIZ at $41 million after refusing the offer of a little over $91 million by First Rand of South Africa.
Sending a direct warning to Governor of the Central Bank, the Assin Central Legislator stated that, “we will deal with him just as we did to Woyome. He should dare us by marking it on the wall and go ahead to sell. He must always bear in mind that, even in his grave, his body will be exhumed to answer for the actions he took”.
This move by the Bank of Ghana comes on the heels of a proposal from Fidelity Bank to acquire Merchant Bank for 35 million dollars and merge the two institutions, but their offer could not reach the transaction advisors.
Fidelity wanted to offer SSNIT and SIC Life 28 percent stake in the new entity after the merger. They also planned to inject additional 100 million dollars to help recapitalize Merchant Bank.
But it has emerged that FORTIZ intends buying Merchant Bank for $41 million in return for 90 percent stake. The initial proposal sent to SSNIT through KPMG also shows that, FORTIZ wanted to buy Merchant Bank and sell it out to an international partner to help restructure and rebrand it.
Addressing the issue on NEAT FM, Hon. Agyapong expressed incredulity at the intended transaction, saying it beats his imagination in the sale of a national asset, the Bank of Ghana, instead of seeking the interest of Ghanaians, is rather opting for the lowest bidder.
