Nigerian Bank Nigeria Bank PHB – No Quota System Here

Source allAfrica: Paul Akogun, 22 March 2010

Shehu Abubakar’s article entitled: ‘Banks: Stemming Northern Marginalisation’, which was published in several newspapers, was an attempt to turn back the hands of the clock.

It beats me hollow why the author should begrudge the immediate past Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, for initiating the banking industry consolidation exercise which led to a reduction in the number of banks in the country from the then 89 to 25. It is on record that the exercise led to the emergence of strong mega banks, which are now able to compete globally.

From my understanding of the author’s arguments, which sometimes border on the puerile, it would seem that he is not happy about the fact that Platinum Bank, a much younger, smaller but nimble new generation bank of Southern origin, practically overshadowed Habib Bank, a Northern bank, after Soludo’s induced consolidation exercise. He further argued that the only bank that could be said to be a ‘Northern bank’, currently, is Unity Bank Plc.

Why the hue and cry? After all, the CBN gave the banks the option of raising their capital all alone, merging with others or be acquired by the stronger ones. If Habib Bank were strong enough, could it not have acquired other banks? It is evident that Platinum was the stronger partner in the deal that is why it gained the upper hand. It is also on record that the resulting Bank PHB is among the top 10 banks in the country.

It is high time we stopped playing up ethnic sentiments. Business is quite different from politics. There is no room for quota system here!

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