Polaris Bank: For Sale Or Not ?

By Bayo Bernard Business Editor

Four years after Polaris Bank emerged from the defunct Skye Bank as a bridge bank, the Central bank of Nigeria, CBN has reportedly put up the commercial bank for sale.

The Godwin Emefiele-led CBN was said to have decided to sell the bank secretly to one Auwal Lawan Abdullahi, a supposed cousin of President Muhammadu Buhari under highly controversial circumstances for a ridiculous price of N40 billion.

While the details of the alleged deal still remain sketchy, the report appears not well received in the financial sector, where not a few insist that the CBN must ensure that any transaction regarding the sale of the bridge bank is carried out in a transparent manner, if and when the Emefiele-led government bank decides to sell the bank.

Pointedly, keen watchers of the bank also said it will not make any economic sense if the bank is sold for a paltry sum of N40 billion as being alleged when the CBN has already invested over N1.2 trillion for its stabilisation.

Non-transparent sale of Polaris Bank, they say will also not serve the interest of Nigerians and the stakeholders who have watched the bank stabilize in the last few years.

The CBN has yet to deny the report, but Polaris Bank said the report is far from the truth. Why would the bank be sold when it’s doing well, making a good profit, and stabilized the bank recently said in a statement?

The Innocent C. Ike-led bank described the reported sale as fake news that must be ignored by the banking public and other stakeholders.

“Stakeholders may recall the regulatory intervention in the erstwhile Skye Bank by the CBN and the subsequent injection of capital via the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) through a bridge bank process, which birthed Polaris Bank in 2018,” Polaris Bank said.

The management of the bridge bank further said “The bank has since stabilized its operations following the intervention; improving its balance sheet, customer base, and profitability.

“The Board and Management hereby reassure its customers, staff, and the general public that Polaris Bank remains a stable, strong, and credible financial institution positioned to deliver sustainable value to all its stakeholders.”

The bank’s position seems to align with major stakeholders in the industry who insist that the Regulator must not be involved in the under-the-table sale of the bridge bank.

For instance, a civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA last week called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene to ensure that the bank is not sold as a section of the media has reported.

The rights group said the president must direct the CBN not to proceed with the secret sale of the commercial bank.

If the CBN is allowed to proceed with the sale, Emmanuel Onwubiko, the National Co-ordinator of HURIWA said such will affect the electoral fortunes of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC in next year’s election.

The sale of Polaris Bank will also compound the economic misfortunes of some Nigerians, the group said warning the president not to allow himself to be misled by those that want the bank to be sold at all costs.

The group said President Buhari was deceived by the CBN governor to approve the sale of both Union Bank and Exxon Mobil to Titan Bank and Seplat, respectively.

The president must ensure that a similar costly mistake is not repeated with Polaris Bank, it warned.

HURIWA said “President Buhari should stop the illegal sale of the bank immediately. The CBN governor has apparently been misinforming the President to approve ridiculous sales just as he wrongly advised the President to approve the sale Exxon Mobil to Seplat and the attendant bank and forth.

“Recall that Emefiele was also allegedly fingered in the ridiculous sale of 104-year-old Union Bank by two-year-old Titan Trust Bank.

“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should have probed the CBN governor over this allegation which is contrary to Sections 9 and 11 of the CBN ACT 2007 but as usual, the former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, is an untouchable cabinet member of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The CBN should be stopped from allegedly selling off banks in the country to cronies and friends as end-of-tenure benefits.”

The group has therefore called on the CBN Governor to make its position on the reported sale of Polaris Bank known to the public in order to douse the ongoing confusion, adding that the bank should not be disposed of like a piece of paper after the huge public fund that has been invested.

“It is concerning that the so-called sale lacks transparency and is shrouded in so much darkness as no due diligence was not carried out, no tender, no advertisement to create public awareness, nothing, just some kangaroo and arrangee sale.

“To be exact, selling a bank which over N1.2 trillion was used to rescue at an alleged N40 billion is highly ridiculous and scandalous,” the rights body said.

Some Polaris Bank sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said some employees are already apprehensive over the future of the bank, considering the attendant job losses that are likely to follow the sale.

Meanwhile, the Magazine learned from sources in the CBN that the management is surprised at the backlash that trailed the reported sale of the bank and will soon inform the public of its position on the issue.