By Victor Ahiuma-Young

WORKERS in the financial sector have  faulted what they termed hasty nationalisation of Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank by government, saying it has left many questions unanswered.

Speaking under the aegis of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, ASSBIFI, the workers wondered why  government and its agents did not wait till the September 30 deadline given to the banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to recapitalize before nationalising them.

The association, in a statement by Comrade Emeka Ogene and Comrade Obukese Orere, President and Secretary General respectively, described the nationalization as shocking.

According to ASSBIFI, “The news of the nationalization of  Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank on Friday, August 5, by the financial authorities, took Nigerians by surprise. The surprise is from the fact that these three banks and another batch of five, taken over in 2009 by the CBN, were given up till 30 September, 2011 to recapitalize or get core investors or be nationalized or liquidated.

 While the Labour community feels that the time limit for these actions to be taken by the banks was too short, the authorities could not wait for their mandatory period to elapse before the Friday takeover. From the Friday night shocking action on these banks, certain questions must be urgently answered.

“Where on earth were these so-called bridge banks before now? What is the pedigree of these bridge banks? Were they going concerns? If the action is to guarantee the depositors funds in these dead banks, what is the fate of depositors’ funds? What is the guarantee level for the workers in these dead banks knowing that they were fully unionized? Why has the CBN imposed executive management teams on these banks, which have failed in their mission after two years, still being allowed to go scot-free? “

ETB, Sterling Bank, TIA
Meanwhile, Sterling Bank Plc (“Sterling”) and Equitorial Trust Bank, ETB, yesterday,  announced that they have entered into a formal TIA which will lead to the recapitalization of ETB and merger of both financial institutions. 

According to a statement, the “TIA reflects the main commercial terms of reference on which agreement has been reached in principle by the Boards of both financial institutions in close consultation with the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON)”. Following from the recommendations of the proposal under review, the statement explained that the transactions will be presented for approval to shareholders, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal High Court, Nigerian Stock Exchange and Securities and Exchange Commission. 

“The complementary strengths of both institutions underscore the compelling merit of the transaction and will provide enhanced growth prospects as well as attractive financial returns for all shareholders. On completion of this transaction, the merged entity will have 185 CBN approved branches, over N360 billion in deposits, and N550 billion in assets positioning it as a major financial solutions brand of choice across its target markets”.