By kemo Cham
Management of Sky Bank Sierra Leone has expressed outrage at the reaction of some sections of the public to the apparent crisis at its parent bank in Nigeria.
week the bank’s management in Freetown denied as untrue reports that it faced any crisis after the management of Sky Bank Nigeria was dissolved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which regulates the industry. That move caused panic in the banking industry in that country.
Sky Bank [Nigeria]Plc owns 95% stake in its Sierra Leone subsidiary, according to figures on the website of the parent bank.
The regulatory authorities had accused the Nigerian headquartered bank of falling short of critical banking indicators of liquidity and capital adequacy ratios, according to reports.But the regulator’s failure to provide further details for its decision occasioned some persistent concerns even among independent experts in the banking sector.
Later the central bank blamed “mischief makers” for the ensuing panic caused by its action. In a statement,it said the infusion of the new board members and management was just a “proactive regulatory action” meant to ensure that the bank did not fail in its relevant prudential ratios.
“Neither Sky Bank nor any other bank in the industry is in distress,” it said.
Apparently that statement did very little to reassure customers of Sky Bank management in Nigeria, who embarked on a frenzied withdrawal spree of their moneyin fear of the worst.
News of that development became a hot topic on social media in Sierra Leone, where some people have raised concerns over the effect on its subsidiary here. A text message was even composed and sent to Sky Bank customers warning them of the danger.The bank’s management has distanced itself from that “malicious” message.
“This is a registered corporate entity in Sierra Leone that stands on its own. The bank is good, the bank is solid by every credential…There is no problem with Sky Bank Sierra Leone,” Managing Director Peter Falohun said in an interview with the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation as part of a hastily organized press conference.
The Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) had also come up with a statement reassuring the public that the situation in Nigeria had no impact on its Sierra Leone subsidiary.
“Customers of the bank and the general public are assured that Sky Bank Sierra Leone is sound by all prudential parameters and that depositors’ funds are safe,” the statement, signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Tapsiru Dainkeh, said.
Sky Bank Sierra Leone is one of about 10 commercial banks with ties to Nigerian banks in the country.It boasts of over 4000 customers, according to its Managing Director.
The MD also said that some customers even called the bank asking to remove their monies from the bank after last week’s incident.But he said they were talking to customers, using every platform at their disposal, from telephone to Whatsapp and Facebook to assure them that the text message was “fictitious, malicious and untrue.”
“Sky Bank Sierra Leone is a stand-alone. Yes, it is a subsidiary of Sky Bank Plc, but we maintain a different balance sheet,” Mr. Falohunadded, stressing that: “We are totally independent, except for the fact that they are our parent company.When it comes to running of the bank we have a management team that runs the bank here.”
Sky Bank Sierra Leone last year recorded Le4.1bn profit after tax.The bank said this year, as at last June, it had already made Le4bn profit.Its paid up capital is $3.1 million (Le13.85 billion), according to information on the website of the parent bank.
Besides Sierra Leone and Nigeria, Sky Bank is also present in the Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
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