AMCON transfers banks to new owners

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria has transferred the ownership of Mainstreet Bank Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited to their new owners, Skye Bank Plc and Heritage Bank Limited, respectively.

At the divestment ceremony held in Lagos on Tuesday, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, warned against a reoccurrence of the factors which led to the takeover of the three bridged banks, namely Mainstreet Bank, Enterprise Bank and Keystone Bank Limited.

According to him, if the bridge bank option had not been adopted in 2011, the systemic crisis in the banking crisis would have been unprecedented and costly in terms of its effects on other banks.

He thanked AMCON and the interim management of the two banks for taking up the responsibility of assisting the CBN to stabilise the bridged banks and restoring them to good financial health.

The Chairman, AMCON, Alhaji Kola Belgore, that the bridged banks had been restored to financial solvency, stating that Mainstreet Bank’s profit at the end of December 2014 stood at N13bn while Enterprise Bank recorded a profit of N3bn.

The Managing Director, AMCON, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, said the corporation’s divestment from the bridge banks was in line with the CBN’s regulation to leave banks in the hands of public hands.

He noted that Keystone Bank would be sold after the elections.

The Managing Director, Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, thanked the CBN, AMCON, Securities and Exchange Commission and former management of the bridge banks for making the process transparent.

Sekibo said, “We promise to make the bank more successful. We will create more value and improve on what has been done at Enterprise Banks. One year from now, we will see reasons to appreciate the sale of the bank to Heritage Bank.”

The Group Managing Director, Skye Bank Plc, owners of Mainstreet Bank, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, said the bank saw value and synergies in the acquired bank and promised to harness and optimise the value.

AMCON had recently announced both Skye Bank and Heritage Bank as the preffered bidders for Mainstreet Bank and Enterprise Bank respectively in the last quarter of 2014. Both banks had since completed the payments for the 100 per cent shares of the two acquired banks, and are currently conducting a process for seamless integration.

culled-PUNCH