CBN grants new lender commercial banking license

folarin okunola

June 16, 2016 2:49 PM

Although the statement did not give details about the identity of the promoters of the new bank, it stated that the financial institution has its head office in Lagos.

CBN Building

Media reports confirm that Providus Bank Plc has been granted a commercial banking licence with regional authorisation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to information on the apex bank’s website on Tuesday.

Another institution listed was Suntrust Bank Limited, which obtained its licence as a regional bank last year.

Mr. Muhammad Jibrin Barde, managing director/chief executive officer of the bank, stated that SunTrust Bank will be formally presented to the public in the first quarter of 2017.

“I am excited to announce that the CBN granted its final approval to SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited to operate as a commercial bank with regional authorisation on September 17, 2015, one year two months after application. This is indeed a remarkable feat as ours is the only fresh licence to be issued by the CBN since 2001.

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“Our journey as a bank since 2009 details the courageous decisions and heroic self-sacrifice of all the people that made SunTrust assent possible. In the years to come, the developments at SunTrust should have far-reaching influence in the banking sector specifically and our nation generally,” Barde said, according to a Nigerian CommunicationsWeek report.

The list of banks and financial holding companies on the CBN website showed that the country currently has 10 commercial banks with an international licence.

They are Access Bank, Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank, First City Monument Bank, FirstBank of Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Skye Bank, Union Bank, United Bank for Africa Plc and Zenith Bank Plc.

Banks with national banking licence are Citibank Nigeria, Ecobank Nigeria, Heritage Bank, Keystone Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered Bank, Sterling Bank, Unity Bank and Wema Bank.

Newly-licensed Jaiz Bank is the only non-interest bank, while Coronation Merchant Bank, FSDH Merchant Bank, Rand Merchant Bank and FBN Merchant Limited are listed as the only merchant banks in the country.

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