Keystone Bank Ltd., one of three Nigerian lenders nationalized in 2009, plans to sell African units as it seeks a return to profitability.
The bank is divesting businesses in Uganda, Sierra Leone and Liberia because of the bad loans on their books, Philip Ikeazor, chief executive officer of the Lagos-based bank, told reporters today in the city, Nigeria’s commercial capital.
The Central Bank of Nigeria fired the CEOs of eight of the country’s lenders and bailed them out with 620 billion naira ($3.8 billion) after a debt crisis caused by loans to stock speculators and fuel importers threatened the industry in 2008 and 2009. The government set up Asset Management Corp. of Nigeria to take over Keystone Bank, Mainstreet Bank, and Enterprise Bank in August 2011 after regulators deemed them unable to meet requirements for banking.
Amcon plans to begin the sale of Keystone bank this year after new owners take over Mainstreet Bank and Enterprise Bank in September, Chief Executive Officer Mustafa Chike-Obi said June 10, without saying who is buying the banks. Keystone also plans to sell insurance and healthcare units, Ikeazor said.
The lender is targeting an increase of about 15 percent growth in its loan book this year, Ikeazor said.
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