By Ademola Alawiye

Thursday, 3 Feb 2011

Shareholders of Sterling Bank Plc on Wednesday approved the decision of the board that the financial institution should operate as a national bank. The decision follows the new guidelines by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which categorises banks into three segments.

The apex body had last year introduced new banking guidelines, which classified banks to operate as commercial, regional or international banks.

Sterling Bank, however, said it had settled for a national banking licence, which the shareholders unanimously approved at an Extra-ordinary General Meeting held in Lagos on Wednesday.

According to a statement by the bank, the directors asked for the authority of the shareholders for the “bank to carry on banking and operate as a commercial bank.”

The statement said the board of directors was authorised to apply to the CBN for commercial banking licence on a national basis.

Apart from the above resolution, the board also got the nod of the shareholders of the bank to submit a compliance plan to the CBN in respect of the resolution.

The shareholders approved capital injection into the bank “as the directors may deem fit and with the approval of the regulatory authorities.”

The Group Managing Director, Sterling Bank, Mr. Yemi Adeola, said that the bank had what it took to operate efficiently as a national bank.

He said, “The CBN allowed all banks to choose how they want to operate and our bank has decided to operate as a national bank because we have the required capitalisation, branch network, human capacity, among others, to operate as a national bank.”

On the expected capital injection, Adeola said the funds would enhance the company’s working capital and make the bank operate better in order to deliver the desired returns to shareholders.

Source: Punch