The report said Femi Otedola took over the Bank with his recent acquisition of about N30 billion worth of shares, making him the single largest shareholder of the bank.
But the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele has kicked against the ownership of First Bank Nigeria Plc. by billionaire businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola who is the highest shareholder in the bank, saying the bank too big for one person to own.
Mr. Emefiele made the remarks on Tuesday while addressing journalists at the end of bimonthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.
According to Emefiele , the over 100 years old bank is too big and strategic for one individual to own outright.
He described First Bank as a domestically important bank in Nigeria, if anything happens to the bank that means something is wrong with Nigeria’s banking system.
He stated categorically that “First Bank is so big that one person cannot own it” especially respecting who then hold the highest shares of the bank.
The CBN governor said CBN will “take SEC’s position as a regulator of the capital market on who is the majority shareholder in the bank”.
He said he is happy that Nigerians are showing interest in the shares of First Bank which has a direct relation to the intervention of the apex in First Bank six years ago.
When the CBN intervened, he said First Bank’s shares were going for N2 per share but after the intervention, the bank’s shares are now selling for N11.
At the end of the MPC meeting, the committee unanimously voted to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 11.5 per cent.
It was also agreed that the MPR will be retained at 11.5 per cent.
Also, the Asymmetric Corridor of +100/-700 basis points will be retained around the MPR, while the CRR will be retained at 27.5 per cent.
The Liquidity Ratio will also be retained at 30 per cent.
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