… Now Polaris Bank
By Chioma Obinagwam
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s Apex bank, has announced the revocation of Skye Bank of Nigeria Plc operating license and renamed it Polaris Bank.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN said the apex bank in consultation with the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), have decided to establish a bridge bank, Polaris Bank, to assume the assets and liabilities of Skye bank.
“The strategy is for the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) to capitalise the Bridge Bank and begin the process of sourcing investors to buy out AMCON. By this decision, the licence of the defunct Skye Bank is hereby revoked,” Emefiele said in a statement.
According to Emefiele, the result of the CBN’s examinations and forensic audit of the bank revealed that the Skye bank requires urgent recapitalisation as it can no longer continue to live on borrowed times with indefinite liquidity support from the CBN. “The shareholders of the bank have been unable to recapitalise it,” he said.
Emefiele assured all depositors that under this arrangement their deposits remain safe and normal banking services shall continue in the new bank on Monday, 24th September, 2018, to enable customers to transact their businesses seamlessly.
“Thus, all customers of Skye Bank shall be automatic customers of the new bank and their accounts and records duly purchased by Polaris Bank,” the CBN governor added.
“Given the good performance of the board and management, the CBN shall retain them. In addition, all employees of Skye Bank shall be absorbed by Polaris Bank under a new contract unless any employee decides to opt out,” he affirmed.
On July 14, 2016, the CBN intervened in the activities of Skye Bank and dissolved the board and management of the banking following issues bordering on Non Performing Loans (NPLs), Liquidity concerns and Capital adequacy Ratio (CAR) and appointed M.K Ahmad former PenCom chairman as the new chairman of the board and Tokunbo Abiru, former Commissioner of Finance, Lagos State as the new Managing Director (MD).
