Business

NOTAP denies granting Stanbic IBTC franchise approval

Published

8 years ago

November 9, 2015

In from Ali Smart . . .
The crisis within Stanbic IBTC was again brought to the fore on Monday when the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) denied claims that it granted management or maintenance franchise agreement for the bank.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, the Director General, NOTAP, Dr Dan-Azumi Ibrahim insisted that what the agency approved for Stanbic IBTC was only a software license agreement which it also approved for other banks.
According to him, “what was approved for them in 2012 was software licenses agreement. It’s like any other bank. Most of the banks are enjoying that facility. “They were given approval for three years from 2012 to 2015 and by now, I think the certificate might have expired, but as far as the franchise is concerned, we have not given approval to them. And we categorically made it clear to them that we are not going to give franchise fee agreement approval to any Nigerian bank because there are Nigerians who have demonstrated that they are capable of running and managing banks.”
Expatiating, he said, “The banking system has been in existence for a very long period of time. And we feel that the country has developed enough capacity to manage banks and we don’t expect to bring in people from outside to come and manage banks in Nigeria. It is for that reason that we have stopped giving banks management service agreement or even franchise.”

It may be recalled that the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) had suspended the Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Mr. Atedo Peterside and three directors of the company Managing Director/Chief Executive, Stabic IBTC, Mrs. Sola David-Borha, Mr. Arthur Oginga and Dr. Daru Owei from signing any financial statements, over allegations of improper disclosures in the bank’s financial statement for 2013 and 2014 financial periods.
But the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele last week wrote a letter to FRCN faulting the council’s and attendant sanction on Stanbic IBTC.

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