First Inland Bank Plc, the merger of First Atlantic Bank Plc and Inland Bank (Nig.) Plc has received the sanction of the court to commence business as a legal entity, marking the end of its merger process.
At a court session witnessed by senior officials of the apex bank Friday in Lagos, the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos under His Lordship, Hon. Mr. Shaibu gave its sanction to the scheme of merger presented to it by solicitors to the two banks.
The court sanction is the last and convenient step towards issuance of a new banking licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which only last Monday gave its final approval to the merger of the two banks to form First Inland Bank.
The CBN final approval, which is the final stage of the three-tier CBN merger process paved the way for the court sanction of the scheme, while the court sanction of the scheme of merger gives legal backing to the merger and authorizes the First Inland Bank to operate as such. This development, therefore, reaffirms First Inland Bank’s commitment to opening for business on January 2, 2006 as planned.
To position First Inland for preeminence in the post-consolidation Banking Industry, the bank a fortnight ago acquired IMB International Bank Plc while NUB International Bank Ltd also joined the Group. Application for Approvals-in-Principle to the joining of the new members has since been submitted to the CBN. The bank is also in active discussions with another bank for possible acquisition.
Market watchers see the expansion drive of First Inland as an indication of the appetite of the new brand to attain and sustain a competitive edge in the emerging banking industry scenario.
First Inland is a synergistic merger of Nigeria’s leading electronic banking franchise with wide reach in the Southern part of the country and a strong retail banking brand with wide spread in the North, which has been further strengthened with the entry of NUB into the Group.
The bank has already appointed Alhaji Muhammadu Danmadami as Chairman and Mr. Okey Nwosu as Managaing Director.
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