Banking Briefs
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THE Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, on Wednesday, November 26, announced the successful completion of the sale of the entire issued and fully paid up ordinary shares of the Enterprise Bank Limited to Heritage Investment Services Limited, HISL, for a consideration of N56.1 billion. The transaction, according to AMCON, was structured as a broad public auction process which attracted interest from multiple domestic and international bidders, with HISL emerging as the preferred bidder.
It reiterated that the completion of the transaction followed the fulfilment of the terms and conditions stated in the Share Purchase Agreement, SPA, executed between AMCON and HISL. “The transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of AMCON and relevant regulatory approvals have been obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities and Exchange Commission. In line with AMCON’s strategic objectives, this transaction marks the divestment of the first of three banks that were acquired by AMCON in August 2011 and represents a landmark transaction in the Nigerian banking sector,” it said.
Citigroup Global Markets Limited and Vetiva Capital Management Limited acted as Financial Advisers to AMCON while G. Elias & Co. acted as Legal Advisers to AMCON on the transaction
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CBN Warns Currency Counterfeiters
THE Central Bank of Nigeria on Wednesday, November 26, warned against the counterfeiting of the nation’s currency. It stated that the bank would henceforth have zero tolerance to counterfeiting. Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, gave the warning while declaring open the maiden temporary exhibitions of the Currency Museum on ‘Counterfeit Money: Who Pays?’ and ‘Non-Interest Banking in Nigeria.’
A statement issued by the apex bank said the development was part of the bank’s resolve to sustain stakeholders’ confidence in the country’s paper currency notes. He said the bank had commenced the education of the Nigerian public on the incorporated security features of the naira. He noted that educating the public would enable them to identify counterfeited notes should they encounter such. “The CBN remains committed to safeguarding the value of the Naira by ensuring that banknotes are not susceptible to counterfeiting,” he said.
Olufemi Fabamwo, director, currency operations department, CBN, in the statement observed that technological advancement posed a serious threat for national currencies to be counterfeited. He, however, stressed that the CBN was alive to its role of protecting the country’s legal tender from counterfeiting by putting in place appropriate policies relating to preventing and minimizing currency counterfeiting.
He noted that the concept of non-interest banking was largely still being misunderstood in Nigeria. While disclosing that the activities of non-interest banks are duly regulated by the CBN, he urged stakeholders to embrace the products offered by non-interest banking, which he noted, are universally accepted and profitable to customers.
— Dec. 8, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
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