New owners of Keystone Bank to change name soon — Source
Staff of Keystone Bank branches across the country were seen in celebration mood as they resumed for the day’s work following the announcement of the successful takeover of the bank by a consortium of local investors - Sigma Golf Nigeria Limited and Riverbank Investment Resources Limited.
The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), late Monday, announced it had sold Keystone Bank Limited, the last of the three nationalised banks following the emergence of a preferred bidder after the acquisition of the bank’s shares and the mandatory regulatory approvals from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The staff have been operation under an uncertain working condition following several failed attempts to acquire the bank.
Daily Trust findings reveal that three local banks, Sterling Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and Wema Bank showed interest in acquiring the AMCON-owned bank.
Abubakar Suleiman, the CFO of Sterling Bank in withdrawing its interest said: “We reviewed Keystone Bank and concluded the strategic fit was not strong enough.”
The staff of the bank who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity said: “We have waited prayerfully for this to happen for a long time. Promotions have been stalled, emoluments are not at par with industry average and working conditions is not what we like it to be.
“We are happy that this is happening and the pedigree of the new owners has breathe some fresh air on us”
Daily Trust findings also revealed that the current management of the bank yesterday formerly announced the acquisition to the staff of the bank through an internal memo. The management also informed the staff that the new owners will unveil a new name anytime from next week.
The new owners would be expected to settle the severance package of the existing staff, the oldest of who have spent about seven years in the employ of the interim management, following which a new contract would be offered to those who would be retained.
A visit to the branch of the bank in Ogba, Lagos, saw customers going about their usual business. Some of the customers who spoke with our reporters also expressed satisfaction with the announcement.
Kabiru Alhassan, a customer of the bank said: “I have been with the bank since the days of Habib bank and I have continued even with the name change as it does not mean much to me since I can access my deposit whenever I want.”
Keystone Bank was incorporated by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) on August 3, 2011, after the takeover, while AMCON eventually capitalised it before appointing a board and an executive management team to lead the financial institution.
According to AMCON’s Head of Corporate Communications, Jude Nwauzor, as at April 2016, Keystone Bank had a staff strength of 1,753 employees, network of 154 branches, nine cash centres and 315 Automated Teller Machines.
Based on the audited financial statement of the bank, by June 30, 2015, the bank’s total assets stood at N317 billion, customer loans at N98.2 billion, customer deposit at N245 billion and total equity at N18.9 billion.