Managing Director of Jaiz International Bank, Alhaji Mohammed Mustapha Bintube, says the bank’s capital base is inching towards N12 billion.

Bintube, who heads Nigeria’s first Islamic bank, said in an exclusive interview with the Economic Confidential magazine, said Jaiz would soon spread its branches to other parts of the country.

He said over 80 per cent of the targeted capital base had been met, adding that the bank would be operating from 10 branches, up from three in Abuja, Kano and Kaduna.

The bank was given a regional licence last year by the Central Bank of Nigeria to operate in the North.

He said, “Our migration plan is to grow from a regional bank to a national bank and to Sub- Sahara Africa. After 10 branches within the year, we will then have additinal  branches in major commercial cities of all the States of the Federation.

“Specifically, we would have branches in Lagos, Ibadan, Ilorin, Onitsha, Aba, Nnewi, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Calabar etc.”

He explained that in the few months since its commencement of operations, the bank had extended facilities to manufacturing, trading, oil and gas, real estate, and consumer loans sectors like finance of generators, cars etc.

“And am also pleased to say we have very big corporate customers like the Dangote Group, and his major dealers and distributors, and we also have high networth individuals. People come. We have customers that have average balance of over N300 million,” he explained.

Bintube revealed that Jaiz customer base was not limited to Muslims alone as the very first beneficiary of the bank’s facility was a Christian.

He said, “Right now, we have non-Muslims and Muslims who are benefiting from our services. As a matter of fact, our first ever credit was to a Christian.

“Besides him, there are other Christians that we have provided financing for and they actually got the largest share of the initial investment for facilities that we have provided.”

Jaiz Bank, he said, does not finance anything that is harmful to society, like weapons of mass destruction, gambling, tobacco, and anything that involves speculation.

“First, let me assure our customers and other stakeholders that our license is not under threat of revocation, our licence is intact.

” In fact, I can say we are a very liquid bank. It is very unfortunate these messages are coming from some detractors that are deliberately de-marketing the bank.

“It is not in their interest or our interest. There are also genuine sympathisers and friends of the bank, who mean well for the bank.

“Unfortunately, they are encouraging it by spreading it round, but they are not helping the bank because the main message there is that our licence is under threat, which is not correct, so we appeal to those people who are doing this to desist from that.

“If they have concerns about the safety of this bank, we have the Central Bank of Nigeria, we have the NDIC (Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation). These are the regulators; they can go and ask them, they have our records. So, I assure all our customers and stakeholders, shareholders that the banks is safe and sound,” he said.

http://www.punchng.com/news/jaiz-bank-targets-n12bn-capital-base-branches-in-lagos-onitsha-calabar/