By Stanley Opara
Monday, 13 Dec 2010
Skye Bank Plc has said it will apply for a commercial banking licence that will have international scope to enable it to continue to operate both within the country and internationally through international subsidiaries.
The bank in a statement on Friday said this would be done upon the completion of the divestment of its shareholdings in all its subsidiaries to allow it to concentrate on its core business of banking.
The board of the bank took this decision, following the abolition of universal banking by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the statement noted.
With the divestment strategy, the bank will offload its shareholdings in its non-banking businesses, which include Skye Mortgages Limited, Skye Financial Services Limited, Skye Stockbrokers Limited, Law Union and Rock Insurance Plc and Skye Trustees Limited.
â€ÂÂThe board opted for divestment rather than evolving into a holding conglomerate because of its strategic goal of deploying all its resources and management capabilities to deepen its commercial banking competencies,†the bank said.
It explained that its directors took cognizance of various factors before arriving at the resolution, saying that the decision would act as catalyst for growth, create value packed services as well as facilitate increased returns on stakeholders‘ investments.
The CBN had in September issued a circular to all banks in the country, announcing the abolition of universal banking and directing them to choose between floating a holding company group structure or divestment from all non – core banking activities to become monocline banking institutions.
Skye Bank currently has three international subsidiaries in the Gambia, Sierra Leone and Guinea where it operates as a commercial bank. The bank plans to open more international subsidiaries in the coming years, especially within the West and East African sub-regions.
Source: Punch
