The Managing Director and Chief Executive, FirstRand Bank, Mr. Sizwe Nxasana, has said the bank is no longer interested in Enterprise Bank Limited.

Reuters quoted the Nxasana as however saying that it was still interested in Keystone Bank Limited and Mainstreet Bank Limited.

FirstRand, South Africa’s second-largest bank by value, had earlier said it was looking at buying one of the three nationalised banks.

“Certainly not Enterprise Bank, but Mainstreet and Keystone were the ones that are a little bit more interesting for us,” Nxasana said.

He also said valuations in Nigeria’s banking sector had moderated.

FirstRand withdrew its bid for Sterling Bank Plc last year after the two parties could not agree on pricing.

Nxasana pointed out that the bank was still awaiting regulatory approval for its planned purchase of a stake in Merchant Bank Ghana. The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria intends to conclude with the disposal of the three nationalised banks by the third quarter of 2014. It plans to start with Enterprise Bank.

AMCON said last week that it would commence the process leading to the sale of Enterprise Bank in the next 30 days.

This emerged, just as the corporation said that it had, in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria, outlined a comprehensive plan for refinancing its initial N5.7tn zero coupon bonds expected to mature from December 31, 2013 to October 2014.

The corporation, which disclosed this in a statement, also explained that the sale of Keystone Bank and Mainstreet Bank would follow sequentially, in order to ensure orderly and transparent transactions.

The process, which is expected to be concluded by the third quarter of 2014, according to AMCON, will lead to the full divestment of its shares in the three banks.

Enterprise, Keystone and Mainstreet banks are wholly owned by AMCON. The corporation had acquired them in August 2011, after the intervention by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation and the CBN.

Enterprise Bank was created from the carcass of the defunct Spring Bank, while Keystone Bank and Mainstreet Bank were created from the defunct Bank PHB and Afribank, respectively.

Source: Punch