Societe Generale Bank Opens for Business

Societe Generale Bank Plc (SGBN) now rechristened Heritage Bank said it will open for business Tuesday next week (that is January 29th) and that it will operate as a regional player meaning that it has the statutory N10 billion minimum capital base.

The reopening of the bank is coming seven years after its commercial banking licence was revoked on January 16, 2006 for its failure to meet the December 31, 2005 recapitalisation deadline.

Mrs. Josephine Aligwekwe, spokesperson for  Heritage Bank in a statement at the weekend , quoted the CBN letter conveying approval titled, “Re: Application for a Commercial Banking Licence with Regional Authorisation,” dated December 27, 2012. The letter with reference number FPR/LAD/CON/HBC/02/062 was signed by the CBN Director of Financial Policy and Regulations, Chris O. Chukwu.

Aligwekwe announced that with the CBN approval secured, it is set to commence operations immediately in conformity with the terms of the Licence.

“All customers of the former Societe Generale Bank (Nig) Limited are advised to look out for announcements in the national dailies detailing the processes and procedures for the account validation exercise”, the statement said.

The return of SGBN’s licence followed a favourable June 2008 ruling by Justice Binta Murtala that the CBN’s revocation order was “in bad faith, unconstitutional, null and void.”

Only last year, a newspaper reported of injection of fresh capital by the former owners- the Olusola Saraki family with about 10 per cent, and International Energy Insurance (IEI) Plc, which has Ifie Sekibo, as executive vice chairman as a major shareholder.