Business
Access, Diamond banks get CBN, SEC approvals in principle for merger
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted approvals in principle for the merger of Access and Diamond banks.
This was disclosed by the Executive Director, Personal Banking at Access Bank, Mr Victor Etuokwu in Lagos.
According to Etuokwu, the banks were awaiting the final approval which would be granted after convening shareholders meeting.
“So far, we have gotten approvals up to approval in principle. There are three approvals that we need for this process.
“The first one is the pre-order approval which is like the first approval, the next approval is the approval in principle.
“The final approval comes after approval in principle and it will come after you have convened your shareholders meetings,’’ Etuokwu said.
Read also: Diamond, Access Banks Merge
Etuokwu further disclosed that the banks would convene shareholders meetings in February, adding that the approval would be taken to court once approved by the shareholders.
Explaining that all the processes, including final approval would be completed in the next 60 days, Etuikwu said the new bank would remain committed to retail and corporate banking to drive financial inclusion for desired growth and development.
“We need to invest in retail market to drive economic growth, this is what the new bank will do, a strong corporate and a strong retail bank,’’ he said.
Speaking on the likelihood of staff retrenchment, Etuokwu said that members of staff would be retrained for different roles in case of overlapping.
“Staff will be retrained for new roles where there are overlaps, one of the branches can be converted to an e-branch or Automated Teller Machine (ATM) gallery,’’ he added.
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