Societe Generale To Withdraw From African Markets Including Ghana And Cameroon

The French banking group Societe Generale (SG) has decided to leave the Cameroonian market as well as sell its assets in Tunisia and Ghana.

Details

According to the French daily La Lettre, SG has mandated the investment bank Lazard to find a buyer for its Cameroonian subsidiary which will also cover Tunisia and Ghana.

Lazard will play a key role in the process of finding a suitable buyer for Societe Generale’s activities in Cameroon, Tunisia, and Ghana.

The investment bank will work closely with SG to identify potential candidates and negotiate the terms of the transaction.

Zoom Out

In 2023, New CEO Slawomir Krupa stated that one of his top priorities was to allocate the bank’s capital more effectively.

SG sold its subsidiaries in Burkina Faso and Mozambique in December 2023, five months after the announcement of its exit from Congo, Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea, and Chad.

The Big Picture

European banks have been exiting different markets in Africa over the last few of years.

Barclays 2023 sold its remaining 7.4% stake in South African bank Absa, leaving behind only an investment banking hub.

Standard Chartered stated last April that it would exit five African countries, Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe, as it focuses on faster-growing markets.

BNP Paribas also started to leave its African markets in 2019. Following the sale of its businesses in Gabon and Guinea, the bank sold its subsidiary in Senegal and also exited from Ivory Coast.