Republic Bank clears of insider trading

Republic Bank Limited has advised that the long outstanding claims of insider trading and breaches of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) procedures by various shareholders of HFC Bank have been brought to conclusion.

A statement issued in Accra by Madam Michelle Palmer-Keizer, General Manager, Group Marketing and Communications said a letter dated March 3, 2015, the SEC indicated that it found no evidence of insider trading in the Bank’s acquisition of shares from Union Bank.

Mr. Robert Le Hunte, Director, Africa Operations of Republic Bank, expressed satisfaction that SEC has cleared the Bank of insider trading and expressed the hope that these findings would bring closure to all of the allegations of insider trading.

The statement said at the SEC, while recognising a lack of clarity caused by decisions of the Commission and the Bank of Ghana; found that the Bank had unintentionally breached certain rules of the Takeover Code in its said acquisition.

“Republic Bank has been asked to pay 1,000,000 Ghanaian Cedis (US$285,000),” it added.

It said in an effort to conclude this matter, and without any admission of wrong doing on its part, the Bank has decided not to contest the ruling and has agreed to make full settlement as proposed by the SEC.

It said the Republic Bank affirmed that all its actions have been based on its understanding of rules and regulations of the regulatory bodies.

Mr Le Hunte said, “We have remained committed to following due process since our initial investment in HFC Bank and we hope that with the conclusion of this matter all interested parties will move swiftly toward concluding the long outstanding mandatory takeover process.”

The mandatory takeover process is the internationally recognized process that gives shareholders, the ultimate owners of the company, the opportunity to make a decision on their shares and the future direction of the company.