The nationalized banks that received CBN intervention in 2009 will be put up for sale in 2014. This disclosure was made by the CEO of AMCON, Mustapha Chike-Obi at a press conference in Lagos this weekend.
The AMCON Boss said the advisers on the transaction to sell the banks would be soon made public.
The three bridge banks were created by the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) to take over the assets of the former Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank, which licences were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for not being able to meet the September 31st deadline for recapitalization.
He said the banks would not be sold this year or in 2013 as was being speculated.
“We have said this hundreds of times that the procedures for the sale of these banks are not easy. If I say we want to sell these banks next year, people will start complaining.
“We’ve said there is a process for the sale; we will get advisers. The advisers will go and look at those banks and tell us what the banks look like, especially their financial health, what they worth and what they think we should do. “The first report will be due in February 15 next year. So when they give us the report by February 15, we will take the report. Note that it’s not report to sell the banks, rather it’s a report on methodology and optimum value, specifically what they worth”.
He added, “The submitted report has to be taking to the board to consider and rectify. After the board’s consideration, the board will come out with their position, which of cause will be share with the Ministry of Finance and the CBN.
“We have to share with CBN, because it’s a regulator and has to approve whatever anybody does with the banks in the country. After that, if we all agree on what to do, we will begin the process”.
“Also, we will establish the way we wish the sale should be carried out. So selling a bank takes difficult process. And I don’t see this will be concluded in haste or I don’t see a successful sale until mid-2014. That probably will be a good time table, because we want everybody to understand that it is a completely transparent and honest process and for that we are willing to take a little bit more time,” Chike- Obi added.
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