AMCON to announce new Keystone Bank owner this week

Mr. Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director (MD) of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) says the management of the corporation has finally concluded plans over the sales of Keystone Bank and will announced the new buyer this week.

Kuru, while speaking on a live TV program over the weekend noted that AMCON who had announced its interest to divest 100 percent stake in the Keystone Bank Limited, since Monday, February15 have been receiving offers from different investors.

Keystone Bank, the last of the three nationalized banks which  is yet to be sold, has continue to give current staffers of the bank a sleepless night, as most of them are now in dilemma.

Investigation by  Business247 has it that few proactive staff of the bank have begun job hunt in earnest, due to the incessant job insecurity that has befall the banking industry in recent time, coupled with the long silence by the corporation.

We further gathered that months after nothing has been done by the AMCON, tension has continue to rise among the employees of the bank as high level of uncertainty surrounding the sales of the lender was said to be responsible for that.

However, AMCON had since February this year said that it was seeking for prospective investors to buy the last of the bridged banks, after it had sold Mainstreet Bank Limited to Skye Bank Plc, and Enterprise Bank Limited to Heritage Bank.

However, Kuru also noted that the corporation has succeeded in recovering N644 billion, stating that the financial institution is on its way to achieving its objective of protecting the economy and retrieving acquired bad debts in the Nigerian financial system.

In his words :“We have so far collected cash of about N644 billion, and we have settle 56 percent of the total N3.7 trillion has also been settled. Settled doesn’t mean money in pocket.

“Like I told you, the challenge is from within; the framework is a bit faulty. You can’t say that you are taking somebody’s liability, and this person’s business has failed, totally failed in the commercial bank, and you are giving the commercial bank liquidity.

Kuru explained that AMCON, with a 10-year lifespan, was not set up to make profit as such, but to deliver a social benefit of saving the economy and businesses from bad debts, adding that it is not out to kill businesses.“The most important thing, like we always tell our debtors is; come and talk to us. We are supposed to help them, we are suppose to support them, AMCON is not out to come and  kill businesses, we are to support businesses, and we have record to show businesses that we have supported and we have continued to support.

“We are supposed to be the economic catalyst; we are supposed to help with the economy. That is why we always advice that let us understand what the issues are, so we can work together, because with 12,700 accounts, it is a basket where opportunities can come up.

“We just want to protect the economy, support the economy and we also want to support the obligors in their businesses, but they must come and talk to  us” he concluded.