AMCON hands over Enterprise, Mainstreet banks to new owners--Sky Bank Plc and Heritage Bank Ltd

In what could be the last phase of divestment of its stake in two bridged banks, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) yesterday transferred ownership of Mainstreet Bank Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited to their new owners namely Skye Bank Plc and Heritage Bank Limited, respectively.

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At the handover ceremony held in Lagos, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, warned against a reoccurrence of the events that led to the take over of the three bridge banks, Mainstreet Bank, Enterprise Bank and Keystone Bank Limited.

He explained that if the bridge bank option had not been adopted in 2011, the systemic crisis in the banking crisis would have been unprecedented and costly in terms of its effects on the industry.

Emefiele commended AMCON and the interim management of the two banks for taking up the responsibility of assisting the CBN to stabilise the bridge banks and restoring them to good financial health.

Speaking on the occasion, AMCON Chairman, Alhaji Kola Belgore, disclosed that the bridged banks have been restored to financial solvency, stressing that Mainstreet Bank’s profit at the end of December 2014 was N13 billion while Enterprise Bank recorded a profit of N3 billion.

Also speaking on the occasion, Group Managing Director of Skye Bank Plc, owners of Mainstreet Bank, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, said the bank saw value and synergies in the acquired bank and promised to harness and optimise such benefit.

Oguntayo thanked the Board of AMCON, CBN and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for conducting a transparent process that led to the selection of the bid winners for the bridged banks and for granting all the required clearance and approvals that paved way for the acquisition and eventual take over.

AMCON had announced both Skye Bank and Heritage Bank as the prefered bidders for Mainstreet Bank and Enterprise Bank respectively in the last quarter of 2014. Both banks had since completed the payments for the 100 per cent shares of the two acquired banks, and are currently conducting a process for seamless integration of other operations and systems.