Keystone Bank to Be Sold during Buhari’S Tenure – AMCON      

Recent findings has revealed that earlier plans to sell Keystone Bank Limited after the general elections will have to wait for the incoming administration of President-Elect, Muhammadu Buhari, before it can proceed, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has said.

Keystone is the last of three nationalised lenders to be sold after Mainstreet Bank was purchased by Skye Bank Plc and Enterprise Bank by Heritage Banking Co. last year.

It would be recalled that AMCON had previously sold Enterprise Bank for N56.1 billion to Heritage Bank while Skye Bank paid a total of N126.8 billion to purchase Mainstreet Bank last year.

Responding to an inquiry by the media, the MD/CEO of AMCON, Mr. Mustapha Chike-Obi, said the corporation will need to get input from the new administration in order to carry on with the earlier plans of the body to sell the bank.

“We will wait till after the transition and get input from the new administration”, Chike-Obi said.

AMCON had stated its plans to sell Keystone Bank Ltd., the biggest of three lenders nationalised after a 2009 financial crisis, in the second quarter after the general elections.

Chike-Obi had pledged that the sale of the bridge bank will be transparent and AMCON will call for bids with a selection process lasting three to four months and ending this year.

Keystone Bank is a full service commercial bank wholly owned by AMCON and was granted banking licence on August 5, 2011 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The bank has met and exceeded all capital and capital adequacy requirements of the CBN and assumed the deposit liabilities, certain other liabilities and assets of former Bank PHB Plc, following the revocation of the erstwhile bank’s operating licence by the apex bank.