The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) says Polaris Bank will be put up for sale after the 2019 elections, according to Reuters.
AMCON spokesman, Jude Nwauzor said the coming elections has slowed things down but expects the process to commence after the election.
“The election season has slowed down things. We would advertise for expressions of interest from investors after elections and commence the sale process”.
If you recall, in September, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria revoked the licence of Skye Bank. Polaris was established as a bridge bank to assume the assets and liabilities of the bank.
The Governor said: “As a responsible and responsive regulator and in consultation with the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), we have decided to establish a bridge bank, Polaris Bank, to assume the assets and liabilities of Skye Bank. The strategy is for the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) to capitalise the Bridge Bank and begin the process of sourcing investors to buy out AMCON. By this decision, the licence of the defunct Skye Bank is hereby revoked.”
CBN also invested about N800billion in Polaris Bank, and as such, the bank had to change its name to reflect the new ownership structure.