The First Bank of Nigeria Plc, has explained potential merger with Heritage and Polaris Banks in a statement posted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
FBN said on Friday that events in the banking industry necessitated merger and acquisition opportunities for banks, adding it has keyed into it.
READ ALSO: CBN OKAYS ACCESS BANK, DIAMOND MERGER
The bank added that it was scanning for potential acquisition opportunities in Sub Saharan Africa.
According to the FBN, “FBN Holdings Plc is mindful of its responsibilities as a Premium Board listed company and will make appropriate disclosures should it find such value.”
We gathered that Polaris Bank, formerly Skye Bank, for instance, which is currently under the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), is up for sale since it became a bridge bank in 2018.
The CBN had stated in October last year that seven commercial banks in the country failed stress test inadequate funding at the end of 2018.
In a financial stability report published by the bank, it was revealed that in less than 30-day period analysis, seven Nigerian banks were not adequately funded, while in the 31-90 days bucket, nine banks had funding gaps.
Overall, the cumulative position for the industry showed an excess of N4.8 trillion assets over liabilities.
The banking regulator, however, did not mention the names of the seven of the banks but it privately informed the affected banks to look into the possibility of merger and acquisition to prevent a total collapse.
A financial expert, Tola Odukoya, Chief Executive Officer, FSL Asset Management Limited, said the merger will bring good tidings to the banking industry.
He said, “It will lead to fresh consolidation exercise in the banking industry. You know that Polaris is currently under the Central Bank of Nigeria, I mean it is an AMCON bank. We were made to understand last year by the CBN that it may call for recapitalisation of some banks”.
READ ALSO: Alleged Financial Infractions: 9 Banks To Refund Imo N112.82 Billion Naira
He added that a merger between these three banks will probably birth the biggest bank in the country.
“You know we have more banks than we used to have before with the issuance of banking licence to some merchant banks and regional banks.
Follow us on, Facebook
Post Disclaimer
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author and forum participants on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Anaedo Online or official policies of the Anaedo Online.
