Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it will clear the Transaction Implementation Agreements (TIAs) submitted by the five rescued banks before Sept. 30 deadline. The Director-General of SEC, Ms. Arunma Oteh, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.

According to Oteh, SEC has assigned more resources to review the applications to ensure approvals are completed ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.“The commission’s team is working all hours to complete the due diligence required for the submissions made by the banks”.

She explained that there were no delays in the processing of applications but “SEC as a responsible organisation takes its mandate of investors’ protection with utmost seriousness. “We (SEC) always ensure that our due diligence on any transaction is efficient and comprehensive,” she said.

The director-general noted that the commission recognises the importance of the TIAs to the resolution of the banking sector challenges, adding that SEC would ensure the appropriate thing was done. the five rescued banks, namely: Intercontinental Bank Plc, Oceanic Bank, Finbank, Union Bank and Equatorial Trust Bank (ETB) had signed TIAs with their co-investors by August.

The aim was to ensure they beat the apex bank’s deadline for recapitalisation and place them in a position to hold Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM). The last of the five rescued banks to file TIA is ETB which it has with Sterling Bank Plc. The rescuers of the five banks are Access Bank Plc, (Intercontinental Bank Plc), Eco Bank Transnational Incorporated, (Oceanic) and FCMB Plc, (Finbank).

Others are African Alliance Capital (Union Bank) and Sterling Bank Plc