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It was meant to be a master stroke that would secure the bank permanently under their armpit, boost their ego and keep their antagonists at bay, but the sacking of Dr Adesola Adeduntan, First Bank Managing Director, by the bank’s board members, turned out to be their undoing as they underestimated the capacity and resolve of those they were dealing with.
The attempt to remove Adeduntan earned them a sack from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the board was dissolved, while Adeduntan was reinstated. The drama started the day after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of its holding company, FBN Holdings Plc, on Tuesday April 27. At the AGM, First Bank, the commercial banking arm of the Group, headed by Dr Adeduntan, posted gross earnings of ₦539.0billion, total assets of ₦7.4trillion and profit after tax of ₦67.8billion. The performance was considered good enough by the shareholders because the arm made significant contribution to the fortunes of the Group.
CBN Until last week, many Nigerians without insider knowledge of what goes on behind the banking halls, thought the country could count on a stable financial system as it pulls through the battered economy. Sadly, on Thursday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exposed what had become ‘clandestine affairs between it and the country’s topmost old generation financial institution, First Bank of Nigeria Limited. And it took rather an attempt at corporate assertiveness by the now-ousted boards of the bank for the CBN to move into action, which raises a question on the genuineness and sincerity of the intention of the regulator.
Olumuyiwa Olowogboyega
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The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed the Oba Otudeko owned Honeywell Flour Mills to repay a loan to First Bank within 48 hours, according to a memo seen by TechCabal.
In the letter seen by TechCabal dated April 26, 2021, the CBN stated, âConsequently, the company (Honeywell Flour Mills) is required to fully repay its obligations to the bank within 48 hours, failing which the CBN will take appropriate regulatory measures against the insider borrower and the bank.â
Insider lending is when a bank makes a loan to one or more of its own officers or directors.
Oba Otudeko serves as the chairman of FBN Holdings PLC, the holding company which owns First Bank. Otudeko also served as Chairman of First Bank until 2010 and is also the Chairman of the Honeywell Group.