The majority shareholder of the now-defunct Heritage Bank Ghana Limited, Mr Seidu Agongo, has bemoaned what he describes as the “sad end” to the indigenous financial institution following news of the scheduled auctioning of the collapsed bank’s assets.
Narrating the dream behind setting up HBL, Mr Agongo, in a short write-up, said: “In July 2014, I set out to build a brand that will endure and stand the test of time. It was a deliberate attempt, guided and inspired by a passion to create a formidable brand from scratch onto the world economic stage. Like Ecobank, Access Bank and Stanbic Bank, which are successful African brands in the financial space, that brand was envisaged to be a proud continental brand, blazing the flag of Ghana and rubbing shoulders with counterparts elsewhere.
“With US$60 million in hand, we completed the preparatory works and in October 2016, acquired a licence from the Bank of Ghana to operate as Heritage Bank Ghana Limited.
“The dream was on and in the twinkle of an eye, a group of highly motivated staff were assembled and one of the best and most robust working structures put together to render niche services that will endear those we come into contact with.
“All was well until 2017, when a new regulatory regime started taking us prisoner.
“To cut a long story short, Heritage Bank was collapsed in January this year, making it the only SOLVENT BANK to have lost its licence to the Bank of Ghana’s reforms.
“Almost nine months down the line, the properties of the once cherished, blossoming and glowing brand are now up for auction; an auction that is akin to the virtual continuous auctioning of shrewd business ideas in our part of the world.
“Africa and Ghana in particular won’t grow in that environment.
“Like Pastor Mensa Otabil said in February 2016, the difference between Ghanaians and Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs of Facebook and Apple fame is not brains, it is the environment!
“Heritage Bank may be gone but the flame hasn’t quenched and won’t be quenched. #StillHeritageToTheWorld”.
The businessman’s statement comes on the back of the announcement of the public auction of the assets of the bank from Monday, 9 September 2019 till stocks run out at Dzorwulu, Accra, where it had one of its branches.The assets include “slightly used furniture and fittings; office equipment, slightly used power plants (generators, AVRs, UPS), fairly new Toyota Land Cruiser V8 (automatic) – 2, […]
