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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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First Atlantic, Assurance others become Astrabank
FOUR banks officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday in Lagos to merge as a single bank under the name of Astrabank Plc.
The merging banks are Assurance Bank Nigeria Limited, First Atlantic Bank Plc, MannyBank Plc and Guardian Express Bank Plc.
Explaining the name Astra, the chairman of First Altantic Bank Plc, Olorogun O'tega Emerhor, said that Astra is a Greek word that refers to the Stars, pointing out that the name Astrabank "was chosen because of its uniqueness and simplicity and also because it eloquently communicates the values and aspirations envisioned for the new bank."
Some of the aspiration, he noted, is that "Astrabank will be a constellation of the brightest stars in the Nigerian and global banking system, and like the stars, will be visible and accessible to everyone, everywhere as a guiding light and positive reference point."
Apart from that, he said the bank's place will always be at the firmament of the banking world, adding that the bank, like the stars "will be a model whose height every other financial institution will aspire to reach."
Meanwhile, in his address, the Chairman of Guardian Express Bank Plc, Ambassador Moses Ihonde, said that with a combined network of 120 branches, a total assets base of N71 billion, total deposit base of N48 billion and total shareholders' funds of N11 billion, the group currently ranks among the top eight banks in the country.
He added that member banks in Astrabank have finalised arrangement to raise additional capital through a combination of rights issue and private placement, stressing that the group is confident that Astrabank will attain the minimum N25billion capital requirement by March 2005.
He added that as soon as the merger is consummated, "we intend to raise additional N15 billion through public offers in order to increase the capital base to N40 billion", pointing out that the listing of the shares of Astrabank on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) will open the benefit of ownership of the proposed institution to all Nigerians.
The next step, he revealed, will be to "pursue acquisition of some banks in the very immediate terms to increase our business reach and capabilities while members of our consortium will remain open to other banks that may be willing to join, in so far as they share our vision and values and will further strengthen the consortium."
He stressed: "Ultimately, we target N50 billion capital base... our group has set out to build a mega bank that will be among the top three banks in Nigeria within the next three years."
Throwing more light on the steps the group plans to take to achieve this, Ihonde remarked: "Given the enormous business opportunities available to Astrabank, we as members of the consortium have set a deadline of three months to conclude all our due diligence reviews, and another three months to finalise other procedures and merge the business of the consolidating banks into the proposed mega bank".
In line with this timeline, he said, the group has already notified the Central Bank (CBN) of their merger plan, adding that "we also intend to immediately visit the NSE, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory bodies to explain in details our merger proposals."
The signing of an MOU by the Astrabank Plc, it will be noted, will bring to three the number of bank groups that have declared their intention in concrete terms to come together as a single entity since the July 6 announcement to that effect by the CBN.
The first, Consolidated Bank of Nigeria comprising of Allstates Trust Bank, Universal Trust Bank, Lion Bank and Gulf Bank signed their MOU on September 3.
On September 16, the Intercontinental Bank Group, comprising Equity Bank, Intercontinental Bank, Gateway Bank and Global Bank also signed theirs.`
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