By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Efforts are being made to pass recently nationalised bank, Polaris Bank, over to new investors, who will run the company.
Last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the operating licence of Skye Bank due to liquidity issues and established Polaris Bank as a bridge bank.
The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), which controls distressed companies in the country, is now planning to sell the financial institution to new buyers.
This is expected to be done after the 2019 general elections, spokesman of AMCON, Mr Jude Nwauzor, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The election season has slowed down things. We would advertise for expressions of interest from investors after elections and commence the sale process,” Mr Nwauzor said.
He said further that the corporation was already working on recovering the non-performing loans owed to Polaris Bank.
Though some Nigerians have expressed worries over the plans by AMCON to sell Polaris Bank, the management of the lender have assured customers of safety of their money.
“We would like to use this opportunity to assure our valued customers of the safety of their funds. Polaris Bank is financially stable and capable of meeting our obligations anytime.
“We would like to use this opportunity to assure our valued customers of the safety of their funds. Polaris Bank is financially stable and capable of meeting our obligations anytime,” the firm said on its Twitter page on Wednesday.
After Skye Bank was changed to Polaris Bank, the CBN said government injected the sum of N786 billion into the bank through AMCON to stabilise things.
