Polaris Bank Limited is a

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

based in Nigeria. It is licensed by the

Central Bank of Nigeria The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the central bank and apex monetary authority of Nigeria established by the CBN Act of 1958 and commenced operations on 1 July 1959. The major regulatory objectives of the bank as stated in the CBN Act are t ...

, the country's banking regulator. In October 2022, the bank was acquired by Strategic Capital Investment Limited.

Overview

Polaris Bank is a large financial services provider in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

and

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

with headquarters in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. , the bank's total assets were valued in excess of US$3.9 billion (NGN:611.5 billion), with shareholders' equity of approximately US$630 million (NGN:98.4 billion).

History

The bank traces its origins back to 1989 when Prudent Bank Plc., was incorporated as a limited liability company. In 1990, the bank was issued a license as

merchant Bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in comm ...

. That same year, it re-branded as Prudent Merchant Bank Limited. In 2006, Prudent Merchant Bank Limited merged with four other banks to form Skye Bank Plc.: * Bond Bank Limited * EIB International Bank Plc. * Reliance Bank Limited * Co-operative Bank Plc. In May 2021, the bank introduced launched VULTe, its digital banking platform. The bank also offers Internet banking and mobile banking. In 2014, the bank acquired

Mainstreet Bank Limited Mainstreet Bank Limited (MBL), also referred to as Mainstreet Bank, was a commercial bank in Nigeria. It was acquired by Skye Bank Plc in 2014. Overview Mainstreet Microfinance Bank is a large financial services provider in Nigeria. Mainstreet ...

Ownership

On 21 September 2018,

Godwin Emefiele Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele (born 4 August 1961) is a Nigerian politician, economist and banker who served as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 4 June 2014 until he was succeeded by Folashodun Shonubi, on 9 June 2023. Early life and e ...

, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, announced in Lagos that the apex bank had revoked the operating licence of Skye Bank. He also stated that the assets and liabilities of the bank would be taken over by a new entity, Polaris Bank due to the inability of the Skye Bank's shareholders to adequately recapitalise the bank after the 2016 intervention. In August 2022, management of Polaris Bank denied reports that the bank was being sold to Auwal Lawan Abdullah, a relative of

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...

. On 20 October 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) announced the sale of 100 per cent of the equity in Polaris Bank to Strategic Capital Investment Limited, which paid an upfront consideration of N50billion (approximately US$115 million). They also agreed to pay N1.305 trillion (approx. US$3 billion) in bonds that CBN and AMCON had injected into Polaris. As a result of this transaction, CBN and AMCON recovered all the capital that had been injected into Polaris since 2018. On January 10, 2024, the regulatory Central Bank of Nigeria dissolved the board and management of Polaris Bank and appointed Kayode Lawal as new Chief Executive Officer.

Branch network

Polaris Bank Limited maintains an interlinked branch network of over 260 branches in all parts of Nigeria. The bank maintains her headquarters at 3 Akin Adesola Street,

Victoria Island, Lagos Victoria Island (VI) is an affluent area that encompasses a former island of the same name neighbouring Lagos Island, Ikoyi and the Lekki Peninsula by the Lagos Lagoon. It is the main business and finance, financial centre of Lagos State, Niger ...

Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

Governance

Effective 2016, the

chairman of the board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

is M. K. Ahmad, who chaired the 16-member

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

. The

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and

group managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

was Innocent Ike, appointed in September 2020. Following the acquisition by Strategic Capital in October 2022, Adekunle Sonola became the chief executive officer. On January 10, 2024, the regulatory Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) dissolved the board and management of Polaris Bank and appointed Omokayode Lawal as the new chief executive officer.

Awards

In 2023, it was named the Best Digital Bank of the year for the third time at the BusinessDAY’s Banks And Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards in Nigeria. The bank was awarded the Best in MSME(Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Lending) at the MSME Finance Awards 2024(which was the first of its kind). It won the "Best Bank for MSMEs" at the BusinessDAY's Banks and other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards in Nigeria.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://polarisbanklimited.com

As of 11 January 2024. Banks of Nigeria Companies based in Lagos Nigerian brands 2018 establishments in Nigeria Victoria Island, Lagos