NDIC MD, Hassan, denies report Polaris Bank has been sold

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has stated that Polaris Bank remains unsold, days after a report that Auwal Lawan Abdullahi, an investor in farm business, is planning to acquire the lender.

Abdullahi, a son-in-law of former military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, was reportedly planning to acquire Polaris Bank at a price of N40 billion, which is below the N1.2 trillion that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) invested in Polaris Bank.

However, while reacting to the safety of Nigerian banks, the NDIC Managing Director, Bello Hassan, said Polaris Bank has not been sold, and banks in the country are sound, NAN reported on Wednesday.

He further stated that, “All banks that are operating within the country are sound in as much as their licences have not been revoked. If there is a problem, the regulator that issues the licence will be the one to revoke the licence.

Read also:‘It’s circulated to cause panic,’ Polaris Bank dismisses report on planned sale by CBN

“In as much as the licence is not revoked, you’re free to continue to bank with the institutio; it means it is safe.”

Hassan also said, “The Central Bank also does stress testing, and so do we in NDIC. In fact we do it on a monthly basis to ascertain the financial soundness of the banks and we see no red line.

“When we talk of key financial soundness indicators, we are talking about the capital adequacy and liquidity and the quality of the assets.

“Those two solid financial soundness indicators that you use to gauge the safety and soundness of these institutions are robust. So, based on that, the banks are safe and sound; continue to bank with them.”

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