Amid liquidity squeeze in a biting recession economy, and determination to remain in business, Sky Bank has moved outside the Nigerian shores to raise capital.
Bloomberg Emele Onu reported on Tuesday, November 8 that Skye Bank, which had its management replaced by the Central Bank of Nigeria in July after breaching liquidity thresholds, plans to sell units outside of Africa’s biggest oil producer to ease pressure on capital buffers.
The Lagos-based lender is seeking to dispose of majority stakes in its business in Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the deals are private.
Greenwich Trust Ltd. was hired as financial adviser on the deals in which bidders must submit expressions of interest by November 18, the people said.
Skye Bank has declined 64 percent this year, the biggest decline in the 171-member Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index after Forte Oil Plc. The central bank provided Skye with a loan shortly after ousting its management to ensure its operations didn’t suffer from a run on deposits, the regulator said at the time. Skye, along with Unity Bank , is close to being insolvent, analysts at Dubai-based Arqaam Capital Ltd. said in a note in October.
The lender is seeking to drop its international banking licenses so it no longer needs to have a capital adequacy ratio of 15 percent and become a national bank that only needs a CAR ratio of 10 percent, one of the people said. Central Bank of Nigeria spokesman Isaac Okorafor didn’t answer calls to his mobile phone or immediately respond to a text message seeking comment.