The now-defunct Heritage Bank is being wound down as fast as possible following the revocation of its licence by the Bank of Ghana and the subsequent transfer of its assets and liabilities by the central bank to the state-owned Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited, staff of the bank have been told.

The workers have had a series of meetings with the Receiver over their fate and the winding down process since the Bank of Ghana announced the revocation of the licence a week ago.

They have been given the indication that the Receiver has no say in who gets permanently employed by CBG.

The Receiver, Mr Vish Ashiagbor, recently gave the staff a three-month contract.

In a letter to the inherited staff, Mr Ashiagbor said: “As you may be aware, pursuant to section 16(1)(a)(7) and (8) of the Bank and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act930), the Bank of Ghana (BoG), on 4 January 2019 revoked the operating licence of Heritage Bank and has appointed Mr Vish Ashiagbor, a Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers (Ghana) Limited (PwC), as the Receiver for the purposes of winding down the affairs of Heritage Bank.

“BoG has also approved a Purchase and Assumption Agreement between the Receiver and Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited (CBG) under which the Receiver has transferred some assets and liabilities of Heritage Bank to CBG."

“As explained to you on Friday, 4 January 2019, by virtue of the receivership, your contract of employment with Heritage Bank has terminated."

“For the avoidance of doubt, your working relationship with Heritage Bank is not suffering from severance under Section 65 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651)."

“The Receiver intends to engage your service for an initial three-month period commencing from 8 January 2019 and ending on 31 March 2019."

“You are being immediately seconded to CBG and you will continue to work under the direction of CBG management at your existing branch/office."

“The terms of your contract with the Receivership will be communicated to you by Monday, 14 January 2019 for your consideration”, Mr Ashiagbor said.

The bank’s staff, despite being seconded to CBG temporarily, fear they could be asked to go home soon, just as happened to over 2,000 staff of the erstwhile UT Bank, Capital Bank, uniBank, The Beige Bank, Sovereign Bank, The Royal Bank and The Construction Bank.