By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

A new Managing Director has been appointed for Jaiz Bank Plc. He is Mr. Hassan Usman. The Board of Directors of the bank appointed Usman substantive Managing Director to run the affairs of the Bank subject to the approval of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The decision was reached after a rigorous selection exercise where seasoned Islamic Bankers within and outside the country were screened and interviewed. Mr. Usman takes over from Mahe Abubakar who has acted as MD since December 2015. Mr. Usman had previously acted as Managing Director in 2013.

Until the latest appointment, Mr. Usman was an Executive Director in charge of Operations and IT. He is a trained Accountant, having graduated with a First Class Degree in Accounting in 1985 from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria and later became a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of  Nigeria (ICAN). He obtained his Post Graduate Diploma in Management in 1995 from Maastricht School of Management.

Mr. Usman also attended the Oxford University Advanced Management Programme in 2002. He worked as the Financial Controller of New Nigerian Development Company Limited, Kaduna (NNDC) until he joined NAL Merchant Bank PLC where he served as the Financial Controller and Treasurer respectively between 1996-2001. Mr. Usman had a brief stint with Inland Bank where he served as General Manager, Banking Services before re-joining NAL Bank as Deputy General Manager and Head Business and Financial Advisory Group.

Meanwhile, the bank has increase its capitalisation from N15 billion to N25 billion, as it begins banking national operations.   The Bank recently obtained a National Operating License from the CBN. This will enable it to spread across all the 36 states of the Federation. It also declared a N794.2 million profit before tax for the year ended December 2015.