Moroccan bank SGMB has recently struck a deal in Accra to take over Ghanaian SSB Bank Ltd, announced a release of SGMB circulated in Rabat on Thursday.

SGMB concluded the deal via its 100% owned subsidiary "Genefitec," which bought stakes held by SSB Bank Ltd's major shareholders, namely Blakeney Management, Commonwealth Africa Investment Ltd and CDC Capital Partners, who were controlling up to 50.7% of the Ghanaian bank's voting rights, adds the same source.

SGMB is expected to present a limited takeover bid in order to attain up to 60% of SSB's capital, fourth bank in Accra's market place, with 38 agencies and 650 employers. The takeover bid will be done according to Ghanaian bourse's rules on merger and take over.

The move is part of SGMB's activities in Western and Central Africa, where the Moroccan bank is already present is Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote D'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and Senegal.

SSB was established in January 1975 and commenced business as a commercial bank in 1977. In 1994 it merged with National Savings and Credit Bank, leading to an increase in its assets and branch network. The bank has a strong market share in both deposits and loans, particularly in the SME sector.