Shareholders Of Top Bank Seek Government Intervention

Shareholders of Stanbic IBTC have asked the federal government to address the on-going fracas between the bank and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

PM News reports that the shareholders, under the aegis of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN) made this call in the interests of the banking sector.

Boniface Okezie, PSAN President, who spoke on behalf of the shareholders advised the government to look into the activities of FRC to forestall more damage to businesses and the economy.
“ Shareholders were shocked and disappointed that a government parastatal would be reckless and tactless in its dealings with a respected corporate body,” he said.

 

“We have recorded losses in our share price over the last two days on account of the misguided actions of the FRC,” Okezie claimed.

Okezie said that shareholders were shocked by the actions of the FRC which failed to follow procedures as outlined in the regulations.

READ ALSO: Stanbic IBTC Holdings Meets Disclosure Requirements Of International Financial Reporting Standards

The shareholders are worried over the implications of FRC’s suspension of the registration of four directors of Stanbic IBTC and that of its audit engagement partner, KPMG.

The four directors suspended are Atedo Peterside, Sola David-Borha, Arthur Oginga and Dare Owei.

FRC had requested that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigate Stanbic IBTC and KPMG Professional Services for financial misstatements.

The bank was alleged to have misstated its financial reports for the 2013 to 2014 fiscal year and ceded its banking application rights to Standard Bank of South Africa against the directives of National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP).

READ ALSO: Africa’s Development Resonates At 2nd Stanbic IBTC Business Leadership Series

”The schedules supplied to the council by Stanbic IBTC revealed that the total fee paid to KPMG for non-audit services was inconsistent with what was disclosed in the financial statements for the years under review.” FRC claimed.

FRC also alleged the bank flouted a number of financial regulations, including a regular flouting of CBN regulations.

Bolaji Balogun, chief executive officer, Chapel Hill Denham, cautioned that regulators utterances on MTN and Stanbic Bank issues threaten investor confidence.

He however called on regulators to be very careful in management of regulatory issues.

”The biggest challenge in the market is attracting investment. Regulators should deal with issues in a manner that it will not create fear or tension.”

”Regulators should reflect on how to handle issues much better going forward because confidence is the main thing when it comes to investment,” Balogun said.

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