CBN fires Adenuga and three bank CEOs

it so glarin that sanusi lamido is pursuing a northern agenda.why was unity bank given until next year june to shore up its fund base,this is a bank that has not submitted its auditted report since 2006,cos it has people like babangida has its back bone? what country are we living in,when will we ever face the reality?

Bank PHB...Now the SCRIPT has been rewritten as the IMPOSSIBLE has become possible. Now we know CARS can no longer drive themselves...they need RESPONSIBLE drivers/bankers to be custodian of Nigerian's hard-earned money

Ol' boy na wao! These people mean business o. The sword is being wielded and everyone is liable regardless of social status. Well, it's welcome so long it will restore sanity and the prestige the financial industry used to possess.

I'm really happy for the wind blowing over the Banking sector,at least everyone would sit up.i look forward to some serious Consolidation and Recapitalization.

WHERE IS PAT UTOMI IN ALL THESE?

The first comment above is a clear manifestation of the foolishness of nigerians for the fact that unity bank was given up to next year to shore up its capital does not mean that he is pursuing a northern agenda i just pray some of you dont divide this country with you stupid un guarded statements one day.repent now and lets unite to make this country a better place

@ Davis, Submitting an audited result to the public is not the CBN's business, it is the business of the SEC to ask a company listed on the stock exchange to submit an audited result for the public to see.

whao so dis is how dis banks r,d breeze has finally blown d hens yonder now we know d banks and d loto offices.

This so called sanitization can only improve economy if it is not being politicalized. Help me ask Mr. Governor, what is happening to the CBN chiefs who had been auditing these banks before now. Sanusi i think you have to sanitize them too.

I agree with Babafemi, if we have 5 of Sanusi in Nigeria, it will bring sanity to this country.

While we commend the sanitation exercise, lets try hard to ensure that the economy as a whole does not end up being the casualty. Banks that are playing by the rules should be encouraged and if there is a way that rumour mongers can be dealth with so that they will stop poisoining peoples mind on banks that are very strong but encounter negative thoughts out of jealousy

In Bank PHB, yesterday marks the beginning of a new dawn, no more fictions but realities...FA was just assembling blocks without good foundation. Who is the laggard now i ask?

Where was Soludo when this toxic was being dumped in the banks? He can not claim ignorance that all was well when he left as the chief banker. Amazingly, Soludo whose credentials as ex-governor of Central Bank is questionable wants to be Governor of Anambra State. What makes him think he is a qualified candidate? Nonsense.

The fellow talking about the northern agenda forgot to mention wema bank was also given a year to re capitalise. lets adopt a wait and see attitude and allow this show to play out. ultimately, 2010 will be when we will know the true benefits of this exercise.

THERE IS NO HIDDEN AGENDA AS FAR AS I AM CORCERN BUT MY POSITION IS THAT THE CBN OUGHT TO REMOVE THE MDs OF ALL BANKS EXCEPT THE 3 FOREIGN BANKS - CITIBANK, STARNDARD CHARTERED , STANBIC BANK AND TO SOM EXTENT THE FIRST BANK. THE CHIEF EXECUTIVES OF ALL OTHER BANKS ARE INVOLVED IN INSIDER LENDING AND SERIOUS ABUSE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.

Where does it leave Babangida and Mike Adenuga Snr.But more seriously though,is the unanswered questions on FBN'S exposures too.

Its a nice one anyway! Don't take it hard on anyone. The issue with PHB I know,read and believe is the mega acquisation of an ALREADY DEAD spring bank not long ago Now the pig has dragged its keeper to the mud Apart from that,PHB is doing great. I wellcome also the audit of previous CBN auditors They allowed this get to a grave situation Nice work sanusi! But advise Nigerians that this exercise is a rescue,as such these banks are up&running again!

pls which ADENUGA.......GLOBALCOM BOSS?

Now the whirlwind is over, it will be interesting how Sanusi and his team will manage the cleaning up exercise. It is curious to note that non of the three bank executives have been indicted for infractions yet, for Bank PHB, it was a strategic decision that went wrong and Atuche should have bow out because of that earlier.Bank PHB should have remain on their path of organic growth and for Spring Bank the MD took over a polarised and jaundiced bank like the Wema Bank group from Skye Bank, the rot continue under Ndanusa and unless Charles Ojo had added to the malaise i wonder why he has got the boot. Equitorial Bank have been known to be in a world of its own and the only charge for now is that it is Adenugas "piggy bank" but that need to substantiated. Unity and Wema undercapitalized, so how do the offence of this 5 banks correlate with the first 5 banks that were sanction, although i do not see any Northern agenda it just shows that Sanusi did not put his house in order before embarking on this plan this is the time for him to buckle up, sit with the economic team and fashion a well thought programme out of this impasse.

NOrthern Agenda IS Showing UP. Where do we place UNITY BANK? Performing or Non Performing or '...Form...'.Look, CBN be should told that some Nigerians ,including my humble self, are very intelligent ,though not in power yet.

A right step in the right direction, its so important that people be made to understand that there is need for accountability in public offices. Whether Northern Agenda or Eastern agenda, provided it strengthens the banking industry, i am all for it. Ride on Sanusi! May Allah be gracious and kind to you and your family.

Northern Agenda indeed! How many of the new CEOs are of "Northern" extraction. I also smell a "feminist movement". how else can you explain the influx of all these women so far appointed? For all those with conspiracy and agenda theories, may I direct you to the toilet where you can go take a well deserved rest!

Their plan is to gain ownership control over the banks. Nigerians must now watch every of their further move from this point. They’re desperately looking for ways to declare the core banks, Oceanic, Union, Afribank, Intercontinental and Bank PHB, of being in need of new core investors. Then their overseas partners in conspiracy will spring up to take over the banks on behalf of Fulani big men. What is going on is a grand conspiracy to institute Fulani hegemony in the organised private sector, using the banks as a bridgehead. But they will fail.

Sanusi’s weird Logic. He says Unity Bank has capital adequacy deficiency but its management was not found guilty of governance problems. But this is the same bank that Soludo last year gave 70 billion naira to prevent its imminent insolvency. Now the same bank is being rescued a second time. How come its management under the Fulani man Falalu Bello was given a clean bill?

why cant sanusi lamido give ASUU just 10 bollion

following on from the sanitisation excercise of the banks,it will be desirable to go back to banks helping to fund real projects in the economy for real growth. the advantage that nigeria has is the tremendous potential for growth as the economy had been denied funds for real projects as the banks took a more speculative strategy.that ought to be jettisoned now for sanity.gone are the private jets and yachts. thankfully the depositors had their money secured,the investors may feign ignorance for what happened in their banks,but that argument is futile.this should teach us,if we need teaching,that nothing lasts forever. we hope that the sudden realisation of the folly of our banks as casinos will usher in a realignment of the banking sector with industry.lets not shed a tear for the erstwhile mds/ceos.as for the new folks,they should go for organic growth,work the market and help the nation grow.for far too long we have imbibed the concept of "quick dirty money" and all the encomiums that have ensued,that was an industry all by itself. whilst we are at it,the hatchet ought to come down on the nse and its leadership.they cannot be exonerated from this debacle.let the chips fail where they may.we need some sanity back in our systems notwithstanding the loss of bucaneering characters that brigthened the financial landscape but let us holding the proverbial empty purse. let us welcome abit of sanity before the next crop of charlatans come up with the next scheme.hopefully we may,yes may ,be older and indeed wiser!!!

DON’T USE SOUTHERN NAMES It’s okay if some netters don’t want to use their real names. But it’s morally wrong and in fact amounts to fraud for Muslim Northerners to use Christian Southern names to mask their regional or ethnic origin in to cause moral confusion about their views. I have noticed that many commentators use Southern names to portray the debate as if Southerners are attacking each other. This is not true. Use names from your ethnic group so that we can properly situate your views!

I will like to commend the CBN governor and his team for a job well done. By so doing, it will keep the banks on their toes.

I stand with Ovie in calling for us to stand a unity people and stop these comments that seek to divide us. I dont believe there's an agenda anywhere, i only encourage Nigerians to support SLS as he strives to ride our banking sector of these COWBOYS whether its in a FIN inside the OCEAN of our CONTINENT or in the PHB UNION. Lets support him period.

There is a display of partialty here, i dont know if it is a northern agenda, but it does not show fairness. UNITY BANK escaped..., it just does not add up... The Governor needs to give us more explanation on this latest action.

Does Adenuga owe any money to ETB or any bank? Did Adenuga setup any bad loans with anybody? So, why are we making noise over things that we clearly do not know? Why are we so quick to condemn this man without the facts? Adenuga has provided enormous amount of employment opportunities to Nigerians (even when the govt failed to do so). Yes, Adenuga has been fired. Now, my question is: what is next? Let us all wait and see what the firing brings Nigeria as a country. We've all seen this movie once before.

You Southerners are all fools. Dont you know all Animals are not the same? UNITY BANK has the backing of the Sultan so nothing, I repeat nothing will happen to it. Go and meet your fake Obi of Anambra to help resuscitate your dead banks. Francis Atuche, Ike Oraekwuotu and Charles Ojo my foot!!!

NORTHERN AGENDA + SOUTHERN BLIND SYCOPHANTS = ARRANGEE FOR ALLAH/GOD

Uncle Nla Oko-Oloo, where can you be reached please? I would like to discuss with you. dr.harrisonimon@excite.com

Love it or hate it, the man still represents the hardest working Nigerian icon around, who is eager to contribute to the development of this country. I can't wait to see what his firing will bring this great nation.

@deola I don't know what you are talking? If you aren't knowledgble enough about the CBN's powers please I suggest you go and read about them first! The CBN was created to regulate the banking sector and other financial institutions. How can it achieve this without the Financial Statements?it can also make rules in order to help it achieve these.abeg go read CBN Act plus its rules.

While I commend the publicizing of the state of the financial institutions, I do not agree with the government's apparent ability to intervene in private institutional operations, UNLESS it takes a majority stake in the organizations. Instead of sacking and replacing the leadership of the banks with random people, the boards themselves should be allowed to select a new head from within the organizations. For those who keep calling for consolidation, how many times must this one sector be consolidated? If we keep reducing the number of banks, we will destroy competition, one of the element necessary for improved service offerings. Otherwise we will be faced with more oligopoly and collusion. Sanusi and the CBN could have still gone through a sanitizing exercise without destroying domestic and foreign investor confidence. What happens to all the people who poured billions into the banks, only to become owners of worthless stock? What guarantee is there now that this sort of action will leave us with a renew financial sector, with less operational risk? Why should anyone put their money in a Nigerian bank, as opposed to under a mattress?

@ Concerned Nigeria, Unity releases a financial statement to the CBN and the public. It just did not release an audited financial statement (there is a difference in the two) to the NSE. It is the responsibility of the SEC to ask a company listed on a stock exchange to release an audited report 90 days after releasing an unaudited financial statement.

@Agbo: Where are you getting your info? CBN is not giving Unity Bank a kobo because the bank doesn't need it. Being undercapitalised is not the same thing as being insolvent. And pls stop spreading that N70billion rumour. Even Soludo has denied ever doling out such money to any bank. All banks that got funds from the CBN got it through the EDW and Unity never used it because other banks routinely borrow from and refer heavy funds users to Unity because the bank is known for its high liquidity. Don't forget: more than 20 states (19 northern and at least 2 or 3 southern states) bank with Unity.

I like the intelligent comment of Chidindu. Bank PHB's invovlement in the dying Spring Bank is what actually pulled it down capital-wise. but PHB is strong and on-going. if I were to be the CEO of PHB, Iwould have sold off my 51% shares in Spring Bank to avoid the CBN's sledge hammer.

Why was UNITY AJO GROUP not included in the list.I earlier said that sentiment should be left outside this. I believe am speaking d minds of GOOD NIGERIANS especilly from SOUTH SOUTH AND SOUTH EAST. UNITY was not included because it has d so called NORTHERN BACKING. U see. We have a long way to go in this Nation.Ethnicity and tribalism has eaten deep into our sytem'GOD HAVE MERCY' This exercise should be STOPPED if it cannot meet the demands of its creation in order not to incure GODs WRATH.At least an average Nigerian know that UNITY BANK is just a mistake... I advise that CBN OFFICIALS should be careful with their decision making in order not to cause trouble in ds goiod nation...Some banks that are in d list of good conduct should be checked the second time........... I REST MY CASE.

I thought Mallam Sanusi said he will not spare any Bank MD/CEO that find him/her self wanting in the auditing exercise.It is however glaring that he is shying away from reality by excluding Unity bank from the list of Banks he just axed. It is high time Sanusi get back to work he was appointed to do and stop the whole craps of ethnicity and tribalism he has just dip his hands into.I pray God will not allow Sanusi to divide this country with this his so-called cleansing methodology.

i do not see any northern agenda here after all some of the other banks cleared do not have as major stakeholders people of northern extraction....it is high time we go back to the basics of good value system..a value system that rewards not only skills but character..PHB has shown signs of weakness since the first quarter of 2009 stemming from the fact that they suspended a recruitment exercise they started 2nd of August 2009.

i do not see any northern agenda here after all some of the other banks cleared do not have as major stakeholders people of northern extraction....it is high time we go back to the basics of good value system..a value system that rewards not only skills but character..PHB has shown signs of weakness since the first quarter of 2009 stemming from the fact that they suspended a recruitment exercise they started 2nd of August 2009.

My only problem with what Sanusi has done is their decision on WEMA BANK and Unity Bank. How can they tell us that there were giving them one year to Capitalise?Why did they not give PHB/SPRING Bank? It is clear that the acquisition of spring bank ate deep into PHB's capital. even more glaring is the fact that Spring bank was almost insolvent when it was bought by PHB. You can say PHB did not do their due diligence very well but you cannot lay the entire blame on them. Recall that there was already a management that was put in place by Soludo. The management team was led by a certain Ndanusa. So i mean if you were to invited to buy over a bank that had been managed by a team appointed by CBN, the question is how deep would you dig bearing in mind the quality of people that were handing over the bank to you. Who knew that spring bank had hidden fx losses of over N23billion that was incurred when Ndanusa was leading the managment...PHB acquired spring bank early this year. the bank was handed over to them a very happy looking Soludo and Ndanusa.It was only after they took full control of the bank that they realized how deep the hole in Spring was. So if you you are saying that the board of Wema took over a bank that was already in grave situation, it beats my imagination because Charles Ojo was not the cause of the problem in Spring. He was appointed to go and head the bank....CBN should not try to pull a fast one. PHB even wrote to them informing them of situation of things in spring. they even requested that they allow them sometime to recapitilise. A request that was turned down..I do not know people that have accts in Unity or Wema. Are they even in clearing?never seen their cheques before.Is Tunde Lemo trying to tell us that because Northern Governors have their FAAC accts is Unity bank, it makes them liquid and that this liquidity that can cover up for the inadequate capital.i do not know where that kind of rationalization came from. I do want to believe that CBN used the Basel II accord procedure when it was auditing Wema and Unity. CBN should stop protecting those two regional banks. FA of Bank PHB was an overambitious man but let he who be without blemish caste the first stone

Well. Am dnt know what to say. For now i dnt see the side of this issue yet. But what if the whole strategy was dt PDP collects all d banks so that they can have enough funds for 2012

Thank you CBN Governor for a job well done. However,your own house has to be cleansed too to avoid a repeat in future.The Directors and staff of Bank Examination and Supervision Depts have questions to answer in all these mess.We shall await your sledge hammer on them, because what is good for the Goose is also good for the Gander.

cbn should be sincere about the exercise and not use as away to get back at those they have problem with thanks keep the good work up god blees you

Can anyone see what I am seeing? In this entire write up about banks in Nigeria and the cleansing going on, where are First Bank Plc and GTBank Plc, are they no longer Nigerian banks? Is it possible that this so called “cleansing” is just a way of getting the banks ready for “use” by some unscrupulous elite politicians in 2011? Anyone wants to say something.

God bless Emma Onwordi for that comment. If any bank survives scrutiny from impartial examiners apart from the foreign banks, it may be First Bank. But this is Naija where magic lives. Some have been given the pass to move on. The rule is not to be caught. Yet our economy is getting worse. Fire will burn them all one day. Amen

Does our constitution dictate that ownership of a bank by an individual is illegal? The least CBN could have done was to ask that he dilute the control of ETB. The reason why Mike has been fired is still unclear. But let us all watch closely how long ETB will survive without the leadership of Mike. It is a matter of time.

Congrats Mallam Sanusi for loving Nigeria more than all of us. One question though. What do you plan to do about the open sale of forex, the exclusive business of his kinsmen who have ensured that naira remains a weakling for them to make money? I think that is a rational next step after the banks. Then we can vouch you are a honest fellow. BUT 1,000 SANUSI WILL NEVER TOUCH THE FOREX MALLAMS UNLES HE WANTS HIS MASTERS TO DISMISS HIM. Such perfidy. And we are all falling for it. See how they have crippled education, health, infrastructure for us all!

@ the truth: you ought to be truthful in your argument. Tell Nigerians that FA & his team fraudulently acquired Spring Bank with the connivance of Ndanusa, Ndidi Okereke of NSE, Al-fAKI of SEC, and of course ex-CBN Gov Charles Soludo. So bad for their greed and foolishness to take away other peoples wealth without blinking, so i am so shocked dt some people came here to whip all sorts of sentiments including a Northern Agenda. A Yoruba adage says ``ILE TAA BA FI ITO MO IRI NII WO`` literal translated as Any House built with Saliva shall surely be crumbled by the morning dews. Yes! this is the dawn of sanity in our Banking system. However, Sanusi Lamido is yet to tell us why the CBN Auditors responsible for these cover ups are yet to be exposed. Its an open secret in the system that nearly all of them in that Banking Supervision were on the pay roll of the Banks. Lamido should set up a open trial for them and see the tons of evidence people would supplied to nail them. As for Soludo & Ndanusa the EFCC should be up to the task. @ Kelechi: You got it wrong that the banks were private institutions. They are public institutions entrusted into private hands by virtue of License granted them to take deposit from members of the public. Like others I hope this exercise bring a permanent solution to the madness in our financial system. Meanwhile, who is going to tame the madam at the Stock Exchange before our share Certificates becomes ordinary TAKANDA. Regards.

So this yoruba man is a thief?

The 19 northern states governments have agreed to pool their resources together to ensure the survival of Unity Bank Plc. Murtala Nyako, the Governor of Adamawa State, made the announcement on Tuesday in Yola when the Group Managing Director of the bank, Falalu Bello, visited him. He said the 19 states governments were the major shareholders of the bank, and would commit adequate funds to ensure its solvency in the face of the economic meltdown.

business mogul, Dr. Mike Adenuga (Jr.), has denied owing either the Equitorial Trust Bank or any other bank.Making this known in a statement issued by his office, the chairman of Mike Adenuga Group said his account with ETB which he uses exclusively in Nigeria is in credit with deposits in very high balances. Dr. Adenuga requested the management of ETB to provide details of any facility traceable to him including the mode of utilisation and disbursement. To demonstrate good faith, he said he is ready to immediately pay if the management of ETB claims any facility is traceable to him even before the resolution of any dispute around such a claim. The Globacom Chairman described himself as the greatest supporter of ETB, adding that he bought most of the vehicles ETB is using at no cost to the bank and housed most of the bank’s branches in his property without charging any rent. The statement further said that Dr. Adenuga has enjoyed no benefit from ETB while any profits made by the bank have always been capitalised. Dr. Adenuga said in the statement: "I’m the greatest supporter of ETB. Globacom banks exclusively with ETB, Conoil banks exclusively with ETB. All the dealers of Conoil, Globacom and their business associates bank with ETB. No property of mine was bought with ETB funds. If there is any facility traceable to me, let the ETB management prove it." The statement further revealed that in a recent letter to the CBN Governor, the ETB confirmed that both Globacom and Conoil have been doing solid business with it and they provide it with income running into billions of naira annually, adding that the cumulative accounts of both companies are in surplus with the bank. The statement recalled that the ETB management after responding to issues raised by the CBN examiners on Globacom and Conoil accounts with ETB, had requested the CBN that a selected team of the board and shareholders of the bank would like to meet with the examiners in either Lagos or Abuja for briefing on any other issue and were indeed shocked by the step taken by CBN without further engagement with the board or shareholders. Dr. Adenuga reiterated his continuous support for to the government of President Umar Yar’Adua in its determination to revamp the Nigerian economy. He also expressed his determination to continue to invest in the Nigerian economy and use his resources to develop those investments

@obalola: obalola i seem not to get your point. you need to first understand what my argument is before you rush to conclusion. who was speaking about the process by which spring bank was bought. if you want to start analysing processes by which banks were acquired, then you will get no where. my point is simple. Spring bank was was in a grave situation when it was bought over by PHB. The business idea was to inject some money, use their existing assets, human resources and branch network to re-engineer the place and in turn create profit which would trickle to share holders.it was not until PHB assumed full control of the bank that they realized that the hole in the bank was deeper than they ever imagined...the question remains ''who created the hole''? your statement ''that taking someone's wealth without blinking'' is absurd. which wealth were you referring to?? Spring Bank's issues/board squabbles dates as far back as 2006. i understand your feelings and ethnic sentiments towards it but the fact remains that if PHB stepped in, Spring would have been dead a long time ago. My grouse with CBN: if CBN is saying that Wema Bank was already in a grave situation before the present management took over, why did they employ the same rationalization with Spring Bank. Charles Ojo took over as MD of Spring Bank eraly this year...Of course he was not the one that caused the problems in spring..i do not get it....

This exercise will make no difference if the common Nigerian cannot see/feel any change in the banking sector. The short term effect is already a problem as it has reduced tremendously consumer confidence in banks already. do we really expect to see a significant change that depositors and small businesses can benefit from?

@ DEOLA: All banks have to submit an audited FS to the CBN, whose Supervision Division has to verify and sign off on it. @ OBALOLA: With all due respect, these banks are NOT public institutions, merely because they are licensed by the state. That be akin to contending that the likes of MTN, Zain, Dubri Oil, Eko Hotel, Reddington Hospital, Chanchangi Airlines, etc, are public institutions because they are licensed to carry on business. Or to describe licensed lawyers or doctors as public entities. Of course, many of the banks are publicly-listed, which brings them under the ambit of relevant public regulatory agencies. @ THE TRUTH: Please keep telling the truth!

While I am fully in support of the CBN current cleansing exercise, suffice it to note that the exemption made for Unity Bank unfortunately opens the CBN to charges of favoritism and double standards (and all other manner of conspiracy theories). Given the fact that Unity Bank is majority-owned by Northern state govts (albeit indirectly through a thinly-veiled "trust" arrangement), and remains the only Nigerian bank with substantial govt ownership in contravention of the CBN's own regulations and guidelines, and that it is the only majority Northern-owned bank (a publicly-expressed grouse against Soludo by the Northern establishment and political class), anyone who fails to recognize or acknowledge the REALPOLITIK that Unity Bank has become substantively sacrosanct lives in a Fool's Paradise.

@ parquita bites (and chuka obi). At least when I fly through MMA2, when I drive through Lekki-Epe Expressway, when I buy cement or get employment from WAPCO LaFarge, UNICEM Calabar or Obajana Cement, when I get decent housing in Lekki or even Mowe, when I get fertilizer from Notore (after almost 20 years that the NAFCON plant lay idle), when I buy products or get employment from Shonga Farms, when I use a locally-built Omatek (or Zinox) computer, and so on, I shall remain grateful to those "charlatans" (and cowboys) in the banking sector.

@ Obalola: pls keep your yoruba adage to yourself b'cos you cannot use saliva to build a house talk of wether it will stand the morning dews or not.And becareful how you call people fruadulent (people that live in glass houses should not throw stones.) As concern sanusi's action, i am seeing a regional shift. It is not in banking only, its in every sector, just like wild fire, it sarts somewhere and spreads to other areas. This is just stage one. lets watch and see as the drama unfold.

one thing is clear , if u ve been following the commments of the CBN governor, he has an agenda,he said no more one man bank .the following week adenuga was sacked frm the board of (ETB)there is no bank in nigeria that does not have individuals that dictates the way things goes (even at FBN otudeko in is non executive post)determines a lot things at the top mgt level. dont be deceived by the rantings of sanusi reforms.it is vindictive in nature hence his statement are contradictory. some of those sacks worked underground against his confirmation by the senate .he is getting to something personal to him if there is no agenda . suddenly first bank and UBA woke up that they need #500B AND N200B REPECTIVELY to acquire this banks of course. watch it sanusi will shoot himself in the leg very soon. the reforms lack any clear blueprint,keeps doing trial and errors. he lacks communication skills for the CBN JOB. let us watch and see . 6 months to 12 months our eyes will be clear.

Sanusi,Cleansing the industry was good but did you really do so without the likes of Unity bank and Zenith?? is this a game or you are simply testing the intelligence of Nigerians? I hope you were right in your recommendations.We will be on the sidelines waiting for Part 2 of the movie..

this will only make sense when he's has done his five year tenure and we know that he actually wasnt acting a script. onlt time will tell. how Zenith and UBA escapsed this i want to know. he should make public the audit committees report and let us make up our mind about his true intentions. he shouldnt be giving a doctor/patient excuse as the reason for his inability to make public the report of the committe cos a doctor/patient relationship is a one-to-one relationship; this hardly qualifies as that...

Wait a minute,is there a Law that forbids Single ownership of a bank in Nigeria? Was ETB a taker from the Discount Window? ETB is one of the only Lending Banks in Nigeria at this moment.I know because i have just benefitted.Sanusi,What is your criteria for doing this? I believe there is something Totally wrong with your recommendations.Im so impatient to see you caught for your "radicalism"...

Frankly speaking, i dont really care whose agenda Sanusi is pursuing, in my view, he is pursuing the nigerian agenda, and thats all that really matters.if Mike Adenuga has not done anything derimental to ETB i dont think the man should be punished for owning ETB.AT THE MOMENT HE IS THE ONLY NIGERIAN BUSINESS MAN THAT DESERVES NY RESPECT..the money he has is truely his own.not the so-called billionnaires that live on borrowed funds.

NIGERIA BECOMING SUDAN!!!!!!! I couldn't sleep today because of my realisation that Nigeria is going the way of Sudan. An enthinc group emplyoing religion and regionalism to impose its supremacy in our land. How can a Sanusi just wake up and start sacking people who have laboured for decades to build their businesses claiming that he doesn't like sole proprietorship. In the case of ETB: this bank is very solid as it doesn't have liquidity problem because it has a captive clientele base. Second, it doesn't have capital adequacy issues because of the limited scope of its business. Yet, Sanusi went ahead and sacked the owner of the bank. In the case of Unity Bank, they have capital adequacy issue and suffer from terrible liquidty crisis. In fact, Soludo granted (freely gave, not loaned) Unity 70 billion naira last year to prevent the imminent insolvency of the bank. Sanusi says Unity doesn’t have liquidty problems because Northern states are supposed to be banking with it. But this is a ruse because these states are also owning the banks billions. They’re no net savers but borrowers. Again, the bank is being left off the hook with a flimsy excuse. Sanusi is now telling us that Unity is healthier than Oceanic and Intercontinental. What is most astonishing in all of this is the TIMID response of the Southern elite. In my village, almost all our people in the North have cpme back home because of the ochestrated violence there in the last 10 years. In the South they're now attacking us again economically. When will Southerners say enough is enough to this attempt to institute FULANI supremacy in Nigeria?

Sanusi’s actions amount to a full-scale war of conquest, albeit a one-sided one. Southerners don't want to understand they are under full attack when all the evidence is there. Southerners are being attacked left and right but they're not fighting back. Here in Abuja, Southern contractors are jobless as the FG gives contract only to Northern-owned companies. Southern companies who secured contracts under Obasanjo but hasn’t completed are being told to handsoff. Southern companies who secured contracts under Obasanjo and who have fully implemented them are deliberately being refused payments. Etc. etc. What scares me about the future of the country is the TIMIDTY of our people. Sanusi can be resisted by the bank chiefs, for example, using the courts as he clearly doesn't have the powers to do what he's doing. But have you heard Akingbola or Ibru talking lately? If the rights of the rich could be so branzenly violated then what hopes should the poor have in our country? The intention of the FULANI establishment is to seize control of the organised private sector using the banks as the bridgehead. Sad that with all our education in the South, we lack the intelligence to know the time to act together when we must for our collective survival.

@ RWS. Sure be grateful to the bankers, At the end of the day you are getting sentimental and emotional about very basic issues, The regulatory body MUST check for solvency and Liquidity ratios amongst other stress test. If these banks failed and the CBN needs to bail the banks out, it is only fair to change management, It shouldnt be personalised, When you take out a loan you are oblige to pay back, Real growth is based on solid banks not weak banks. If banks give out bank loans is this REAL GROWTH you spoke about sustainable? Isnt real growth meant to be continuous? Just a thought SIR

Mallam Sanusi, could you please show others where you guys get these FREE FUNDS that you easily pumps into the banking industry so that something can be done about EDUCATION, HEALTH, SECURITY & INFRASTRUCTURE. Also, apart from security of depositors money, what other benefits do a common man (e.g SME) stands to gain from this whole reforms in the long run. Even though we already know the numerous gains of you guys!

Before I start, let me inform all I sundry that I work for one of the three Bank's whose MDs’ were sacked by the CBN on Friday. I have in time past and through this same medium tried to rationalize the actions of the CBN. Like other discerning members of the Public, I have adduced the actions of the CBN on the first five banks to the kow-towing of CBN to some special ethnical interest. I wish I was wrong! However, Friday's event has since confirmed my fear that this is clearly a jihad led by Mr President, the Minister for Finance, Dr Mansur Muhtar, Snr Special Assistant to the President on Economic Matters, Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Ahmed Makarfi and the CBN Governor, Mr Lamido Sanusi, who are by design Hausas of Fulani extraction. The Jihad is to take over the banking sector through the back door. An inhumane act, which has made mockery of the sweats of the real owners of these nine banks. Let me speak for the Bank I know so much about. ETB. Where I have worked for over a decade. ETB remains the only private bank in Nigeria. The bank's sustainability since 2006, after the wholesale bank consolidation, is owned to the Owner of the Bank, Otunba Dr Mike Adenuga who used his financial muscle to build ETB to what it is today. Practically, 80% of the buildings on which ETB Branches is located are owned by Dr Adenuga. And it is worthy of note that the man has not collected a single kobo as dividend from the Bank in the last 5years. All Profits for appropriation are ploughed back into the Bank. What this means is that the man has been rendering labour of love to the Bank and by extension, the Staff in the last five years. It is for this reason that unlike other banks, meeting deposit target was not a thing of do or die in ETB. Our liquidity is also guaranteed by GLOBACOM, CONOIL AND CONPETROL who are the Bank's biggest Customers. ETB gets a deposit of over a billion naira on daily basis from these three Companies. We did not play in the margin market; we did not play in the Oil importation market - thanks to the wisdom of Dr Adenuga and one of our Consultants, Mr O.O Taiwo. One would then ask, why did ETB fall under the axe since it does not have liquidity problem? We have heard in this last 2 months that the CBN is against Banks being run as family banks. While the argument holds true for the other Banks that capitalised through the stock exchange, which are owned by the investing public, this argument can not hold water in a Bank that is wholly funded by Dr Adenuga. The CBN submitted that the Bank had adverse corporate governance because, as it claimed, ETB gave loans to companies where Dr Adenuga has overwheming interest. I say this unequivocally and I stand to be corrected that non of Dr Adenuga's Company is indebted to ETB. ETB stands today because of the patronage of these Companies. If Dr Adenuga decides to withdraw those patronages, ETB will crumble. If he decides today to issue quit notices to branches of ETB occupying his premises, ETB will have less than 15 branches standing in the whole of the Country. When the issue of capital inadequacy surfaced after the CBN/NDIC joint examination, we were wondering what makes a Bank that has Shareholders funds in Excess of =N=37billion as against the required =N=25billion inadequate in Capital? ETB did not borrow a dime from the CBN's Expanded Discount Window (EDW) To shore up the Capital base, this man traveled out of the Country on Tuesday, 29/9/2009 to look for funds and he came back with couple of billions of Naira on Thursday, 1/10/2009. But that obviously wasn't the problem. CBN's mind was already made up. They don't want a one man bank irrespective of its capital base. I should think that in a saner clime, what CBN would have done is to mandate the Bank to go public within a stipulated period and peg the % of Shareholding that can be held by Dr Adenuga in the Bank. This the CBN did not do. What I hear now is that CBN is planning to inject =N=200billion into these three banks. If CBN itself says ETB's problem is not with liquidity, what purpose will this funds serve in the bank other that to have them converted to second-tier equity for eventual sales to the CRONIES of the rampaging jihadists? For a man that has done so well for the Country, Is this the kind of pay-back that he deserves? I hope he takes the CBN to Court to get back his bank from these Usurpers.

we have to be civil here and show some level of maturity by not bringing issue of religion or somebody using someone else's name, contribute something meaningful but if you have nothing to contribute stay off the panel, thank you all ,GOD KNOWS BEST LONG LIVE NIGERIA

Good riddance to bad robbish. May his types in Nigeria decrease so that the country can move forward, restore her image, at home and abroad so thatmany Nigerians will acknowledge God. Wealth accumulated through foul means can never stand the test of time.

@Tayo Adenuga: Are you serious? May his types decrease? I assume that you talk out of ignorance. How can you wish that a man that employs thousands of People be rid of? A man who for the love of the Country revolutionized the Telecomms industry thereby saving you and me from being reap off for live by the other Telecomms companies. A man that made his money by dint of hardwork. A man who could starsh is wealth abroad but preferred to keep all his eggs in one basket by investing in the Nigerian economy. If you don't know his worth, those of us that are previledged to work for him and know him at close quarters know that there are very few men like him in this Country. And if his likes decreases in the Country, this Country is in trouble. I also need to tell you that despite the fact that he is no longer a Non-Executive Director of ETB, he remains the owner and major Shareholder of the Bank until CBN and the FGN convert their so called loan to second-tier security, which will then make Dr Adenuga, a minoriry Shareholder. Thanks anyway for expressing yourself.

@ Jon. Thanks for the primer in Regulation 101, but I am completely lost regarding how that relates to my response to the assertions that the "charlatans" and "cowboys" who run Nigerian banks are not interested in the real sector. The projects that I listed are just a few of those financed by these banks. Furthermore, it is exactly these sorts of long-term (infrastructural and manufacturing) projects that stimulate REAL GROWTH (both for the wider economy and the banks), rather than the LPO financing and forex round- tripping that pre-consolidation Nigerian banks reveled in.

DARE NIGERIA: Thank you! I said somewhere else on a related story that I am quickly coming to a realization that one of Nigeria's biggest problem as a people is the bad belle by a segment of the population against successful people (which perhaps is an unfortunate byproduct of living in a corrupt country). Personally, I do not know Mr. Adenuga from a can of beans, but I do know that through Globacom, Conoil and Conpetrol, he has provided direct and indirect employment for thousands of Nigerians across the spectrum, from highly skilled professionals, technicians and artisans to unskilled laborers and recharge card entrepreneurs, and has stimulated multiplier growth in the Nigerian economy through the services provided by those companies (Globacom's Glo-1 cable system is set to crash Internet and data transmission costs in Nigeria) and the corporate and personal tax revenues generated. Accordingly, I would bet that Mr. Adenuga has probably ADDED tons more value to the Nigerian economy (and therefore to Nigeria itself) than anything he might arguably have gotten therefrom.

Of course, if Mr. Adenuga is proven guilty (in a court of law) of any actual criminal conduct, which one presumes excludes simply owning a one-person bank or being extremely successful, he should be made to face the full weight of the law.

what i have come to realise in the little time,i have stayed in this life,is that what God has not destined can't not hold.When PHB came to take over Springbank,some shareholders cried foul.What did PHB do?Obviously nothing cos they think with their money,there is possibility in everything.no wonder they went as far as saying a car can ride itself.But as we all can see,a car needs a good driver to go around.Too bad,they didnt do their due dilligence.But am sorry to say,serve them right...............................

Indeed, it troubles my mind to see CBN draging the name of ETB bank to the mud. A bank that has successfully grown its capital base far above the required minimum capital base. In fact, there is more to that than we think.CBN! Have they changed? The same body that has been auditing banks and representing unrealtic profit after tax, still woke up now to say it wasn't so. To the best of my opinion, they need to be audited too and thereafter follow up with EFCC. The persecuted bank list remains incomplete without the likes of Zenith and UBA bank. It is almost impossible to say that these banks are not in the list. For what? We known teams and their players.

@DARE NIGERIA. I LIKE YOUR DEEP INCISIVE COMMENTS. NIGERIA IS JUST A FAILED STATE... I CANNOT COMPREHEND THAT UNITY BANK IS MORE LIQUID THAT PHB. OCEANIC OR INTERCONTINENTAL... I HAVE ASKED ''WHAT PERCENTAGE OF ACCTS HELD IN UNITY BANK ARE TRANSACTION BASED'', ''WHAT ARE THEIR EARNINGS'' ''DO THEY HAVE AUDITED RESULTS''. THE QUESTIONS ARE NUMEROUS. HOW CAN CBN TELL US THAT UNITY BANK IS LIQUID BECAUSE OF FUNDS OF THE NORTHERN GOVERNORS???THIS IS THE WORST STATEMENT I HAVE HEARD BEFORE IN MY LIFE..ARE THE GOVERNORS NOT SUPPOSED TO USE THE FUNDS TO DEVELOP THEIR STATES??? DOES IT MEAN THAT THEY ARE PLACING FUNDS IN UNITY TO BOOST ITS LIQUIDITY?THEREBY HAMPERING GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY IN THEIR RESPECTIVE STATES. SANUSI IS JUST ABOUT TO DESTROY THE ECONOMY OF NIGERIA... ON ETB: I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY CBN WOULD REMOVE ADENUGA WHEN ETB IS CLEARLY A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY..THEY DID NOT RAISE ANY CAPITAL FROM THE PUBLIC. THE CAPITAL THEY USED TO MEET THE 25BILLION REQUIREMENT WAS RAISED BY ADENUGA...EVEN IF THERE IS ANY CAPITAL ADEQUACY ISSUE, WHAT CBN SFOULD HAVE DONE WAS TO INSTRUCT THEM TO GO PUBLIC... WHEN CBN AUDITED THE FIRST TEN BANKS AND CAME OUT WITH THEIR RESULTS, I WAS FULL OF PRIASE FOR SANUSI. BUT LIKE A TYPICAL NORTHERN OLIGARCH HE IS, HE HAS NOT ONLY SHOCKED NIGERIANS WITH THIS ACT BUT HAS ALSO DAMPENED THE FAITH OF PEOPLE. IT MAKES ME REMEMBER THE CASE OF SAVANNAH BANK. AFTER SOME MANY YEARS, IT WAS GIVEN BACK ITS LICENSE. NIGERIANS LET US START TO DO THE RIGHT THINGS...

Na so God go dey catch unu one by one. thief people Una won carry money go grave?

well done Lamido,u and ur team are doin a very gud job,but u shld do it in gud faith,for God to support u,i think u don'th attached any form of bias to it,but i don't see a Banks like unity and wema to survived ur big axe.

this might be a little stressful for anyone that cares to help..but i need help with understanding[knowing] the exact long and short term implications of the whole cbn-sanusi fiasco and the bank bosses... i belive its quite interesting and i am lookin forward to having several responses...as soon as possible...THANK Y'ALL