CBN Moves to Return ETB to Mike Adenuga

•To restore Globacom chairman to board

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=157845

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to return Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr. to the Board of the Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB), THISDAY has learnt.
The newspaper was informed that the CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was inclined to return Adenuga to the Board following the concrete steps taken thus far by Adenuga to shore up the capital base of ETB with the injection of an initial capital of $150 million.
A CBN official told THISDAY that since no criminal activity, such as insider lending and money laundering, was found against Adenuga during the special audit of banks operating in the country, “the most plausible step to take now is to reinstate him as a non-executive director of ETB and guide the bank in resolving any observed issues”.
Sanusi, THISDAY learnt, has consulted widely with the CBN Committee of Governors, comprising the governor and his deputies, as well as the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), over the development.
Unlike other troubled banks in which serious infractions bordering on criminal activities were discovered, ETB was said to have been affected by the last CBN action mainly because of the ownership structure.
The CBN had on October 2 sacked the Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Ike Oraekwuotu, and removed Adenuga as a non-executive director after a special audit of the remaining 14 banks.
In the build-up to the resolution of the ETB issue, the CBN also met with Adenuga and other shareholders of the bank and endorsed their offer to re-capitalise the ETB with an initial injection of $150 million.
“Adenuga’s offer is positive and since he was not found to have been involved in any criminal infraction, we decided to resolve the issue as quickly and smoothly as possible without compromising on audit,” a highly placed CBN official said.
THISDAY checks revealed that while Sanusi frowned on “sole proprietorship” of banks because of deep concerns over internal checks and control, he was convinced after the review of the ETB case that the decision to restore Adenuga to the ETB board was the fair and professional step to take, particularly since no criminal infraction that could dislocate the Nigerian economy was perpetrated in ETB when Adenuga served on the Board as non-executive director.
The CBN, it was also gathered, was unwilling to inject government money into ETB, a private limited company with a few shareholders. It is not quoted on the stock exchange.
The new move by the CBN is seen as buttressing the position of the CBN Governor in the wake of the reform in the banking sector that it has no ethnic coloration.
Following his confirmation as the CBN Governor by the Senate, Sanusi promised to make risk management, reporting and regulation as his three key areas of focus.
Many analysts are of the opinion that the ongoing reform in the banking sector will grow local and international confidence in the Nigerian economy.
Eight bank MDs have been sacked since the August 14 intervention in banks by the CBN over issues of liquidity, capital adequacy and corporate governance. The banks affected are Intercontinental, Oceanic, Union, Afribank, FinBank, BankPHB, Spring and ETB.
The sack of ETB chief executive and the removal of Adenuga as a non-executive director took many analysts by surprise because of the profile of Dr. Adenuga, a highly respected entrepreneur and one of the biggest employers of labour in the country.

They took away the bank only to return it back to this man in less than 3 wks. What a senseless and ridiculous move.

Why was he removed in the first place?
What happened to following the appropriate steps before pulling the trigger?

Instead of quickly concluding to sack the man without clearly understanding what was on the ground, why didn't they suspend him till all stones had been turned?


I think CBN has taken away their integrity for making this unnecessary mistake.

that's crazy

It is only fair to assume that this is the first in what will be a litany of back room resolution deals for the so called big stick weilded on elite Nigerian politians-businessmen.

The question is why was the economy brought to disrepute if we will resort to old ways of doing things to resolve the problems.

Where is the transparency?

Sanusi just needs to realise that we are a developing economy that needs careful nuturing and not empty tough talk.

Back room resolution?
Instead of engaging ourselves in baseless speculation or quickly judging others based on wrong information , I think it is only fair for us to just bury our heads in the soil.

My Mentor,

THE BULL.

He was removed because: his bank did not give enough loans to the public, he had too much power, the bank did not follow CBN protocols.

1. If 80% of the money in my bank belongs to me, doesn't it make sense if I'm a little bit hesitant when it comes to giving loans to the public; especially in a country where a citizen is able to have up to 6 international passports with different names?
Look at what happened to those bad loans given to the public?

2. If 80% of the money in my bank belongs to me, doesn't it make sense if I control daily activities in my bank?

3. What exactly are the protocols of CBN and when was the last time anyone in this country (include you and myself) follows any protocols?

Stakeholders, Experts Hail Plan To Return ETB To Adenuga - Make Case For Other Family Banks - Lambast CBN On Regulatory Deficit

http://www.tribune.com.ng/24102009/news/news6.html

The decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to return Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) to Dr. Mike Adenuga has been described as a welcome development and will go a long way to strenghten the bank.


A cross-section of financial experts, legal luminaries and leaders of shareholders’ groups told Saturday Tribune that CBN had come to the understanding that it goofed, stressing that in the first instance, there were no sufficient reasons to have removed Adenuga from the board of the bank.


According to the former national president, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Dr. Samuel Nzekwe, the apex bank had taken the right decision to retrace its steps on Adenuga, stating that it was necessary for the apex bank to do its homework well before taking any decision in future.


Nzekwe noted that if the sole reason for the re-instatement of Adenuga was hinged on his plan to inject $150 million into the bank, the same measure should be extended to other banks that had sole proprietorship background.


The accountant, who observed that there was nothing wrong with private ownership of banks, urged the apex bank to work on its regulatory and supervisory roles.


On his part, a financial analyst and chief executive of a defunct bank, Mr. Opeyemi Agbaje, called for another look at the modus operandi being adopted by the CBN in sanctioning bank chiefs.


He said that though he was not aware why the apex bank sanctioned the Globacom chairman, the apex bank, according to him, should be more transparent in carrying out sanctions against erring bank chiefs.


Opeyemi opined that there was nothing wrong with one-man bank, stating, however, that “from experience, Nigerians are not able to manage one-man bank. At least, there is no legislation against free enterprise system but what about the regulation and standards?”


According to an Abuja-based legal expert, Mr. Nnodu Okeke, CBN’s decision on Adenuga was commendable, urging the apex bank to relax the sanctions placed on other bank CEOs that have family background.


Nnodu noted that the CBN ought to have allowed for a fair hearing on the part of dismissed CEOs, stating that they could be made to recapitalise the respective banks.


Also commenting, national president, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Mr. Boniface Okezie, stated that the CBN was only celebrating its inconsistencies, stressing that there was no justifiable reason why Adenuga should be removed from the board when it was not the one that appointed him.


He observed that the apex bank was only wasting its time in its war against sole proprietorship in the banking sector, adding that Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) was superior in this regard.


"CBN is only contradicting itself. They knew they had goofed. How can you take away properties from the owners? I mean those who have toiled day and night to build the institutions?” he queried.


Lending credence to this, coordinator, Shareholders Renaissance Association (SRA), Ambassador Olufemi Timothy, stated that the re-tracing of steps by the CBN was in order.


Timothy emphasised that there was no law against one-man banking in the country, urging the apex bank to strengthen its regulatory roles.


The decision of the CBN to return ETB to Adenuga, according to reports, was hinged on the fact that no criminal activity, such as insider lending and money laundering, was found against him during the special audit of banks operating in the country.


The CBN is also said to have consulted widely with the CBN Committee of Governors, comprising the governor and his deputies, as well as the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), over the development, adding that unlike other troubled banks in which serious infractions bordering on criminal activities were discovered, ETB was said to have been affected by the last CBN action mainly because of the ownership structure.


It will be recalled that the CBN had, on October 2, sacked the managing director of the bank, Mr. Ike Oraekwuotu, and removed Adenuga as a non-executive director after a special audit of the remaining 14 banks.

inspired_m:

My Mentor,

THE BULL.

Really?? Since when?

If ETB is ok, what was the point in sacking the MD (ORAEKWUOTU)?

The first to get to the office, the last to leave his desk; my mentor, THE BULL.