AMCON hands over Enterprise, Mainstreet banks to new owners

AMCON hands over Enterprise, Mainstreet banks to new owners

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The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) 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.

– Punch.