Embattled businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Seidu Agongo, has written an emotional article on the collapsed Heritage Bank Limited after news broke Thursday, September 6 that the bank’s assets were due to be auctioned.
In the article titled ‘a sad end?’ the businessman, who was the significant shareholder of the now defunct bank, said he envisaged Heritage Bank to be “a proud continental brand, blazing the flag of Ghana and rubbing shoulders with counterparts elsewhere.â€
He cited Ecobank of Togo, Access Bank of Nigeria and Stanbic Bank of South Africa as some of the brands that Heritage Bank was aspiring to be like.
READ ALSO:Â Heritage bank workers asked to go home
“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,†Mr Agongo said.
“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 Zukerberg 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,†he added.
He concluded with a hashtag ‘#StillHeritageToTheWorld’
Mr Agongo is currently standing trial for causing financial loss to the state in some contracts involving the supply of fertiliser to the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
Below is the post
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 the relevant financial resources in hand, we completed the preparatory works and in October 2016, acquired a licence from 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 Zukerberg 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
READ ALSO: Majority shareholder, Seidu Agongo refutes claims by BoG for the collapse of Heritage Bank.
BY: Graphic Online