Skye Bank and Fortis Microfinance Bank have just been delisted from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), following a decision by the National Council of the Stock Exchange.
The Council said the delisting was based on the withdrawal of operational licenses of the defunct banks by the Central Bank.
Backstory: The CBN had on July 4, 2016 taken over the management of the Skye Bank by reconstituting the board of directors and management of the bank to pave way for a new team to take charge of the bank and resolve various issues that were perceived to be hindering its optimal performance.
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The reasons for Central Bank’s takeover of Skye Bank was:
- To save depositors’ funds and to ensure that the bank continued as a growing concern, being a systemically important bank
- To stem the imminent job losses to staff if a liquidation option had been adopted.
- Stop bailing out the bank with indefinite liquidity support from the CBN.
The Central bank then gave the new board and management a clear mandate with particular focus areas to turn the institution around positively.
The apex bank in July 2018 extended the tenure of the board of directors and management of Skye Bank for another two years till June 30, 2020. However, on September 21, 2018, the CBN revoked the operating license of Skye Bank and licensed Polaris Bank as a bridge bank to take over assets and liabilities of defunct Skye Bank.
The Stock Exchange had in November 2018 suspended trading on the shares of Fortis Microfinance Bank and five other companies after they failed to adhere to best corporate governance and extant post-listing requirements that make it mandatory for quoted companies to submit their financial statements within stipulated timelines.
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