PRESS RELEASE

NDIC MANAGEMENT SUMMONS SAVANNAH BANK’S
INTERIM BOARD, MANAGEMENT

Following the expiration of the deadline given to Savannah Bank of Nigeria (SBN) Plc to recapitalize and commence operations by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) after the restoration of its operating licence by the Court of Appeal, Management of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), last Wednesday summoned the Interim Board and Management of the SBN to ascertain the status of the bank. 

Speaking at the meeting between the Management of NDIC and the interim Board, Management and Consultants of the SBN, the NDIC’s Ag. Managing Director/Chief Executive, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim said that the Corporation had been concerned about the plight of the SBN’s depositors and the plan by the bank to re-open for full banking business, adding: “We are worried about how soon you will re-open because the general public have been asking us this question and we have been unable to provide answers.  We also need to brief the Corporation’s Board on the matter.”

Alhaji Ibrahim therefore advised the interim Board and Management of the bank to draw an implementation timetable and give a time frame for the re-opening of its branches nationwide.  ‘’You also need to do a lot of public relations and open a few offices to kick-start the re-opening process in order to assure the banking public that you are really serious about giving them access to their deposits’’, he maintained.

He reiterated the Corporation’s commitment in providing support towards any workable initiatives by the SBN to commence full banking operations and also to settle depositors’ claims.

Responding, the SBN’s Executive Director (Services), Mrs. Pat Nwobodo informed the meeting that the  bank had concluded arrangements to open six (6) offices in each of the six (6) geo-political zones of the country, to facilitate depositor interaction and verification of claims.

Mrs. Nwobodo also told the meeting that an interactive website (www.savannahbankplc.com), office locations, contact persons and phone numbers had been released so that the bank could be reached by its teeming customers.  She added that the bank would conclude the take-over of its remaining office locations nationwide from the NDIC within the next two (2) weeks.

The SBN’s Executive Director however noted  that the bank would need more time, moral and technical support from the CBN and NDIC to resume full banking operations.  She said that the bank had set up a project team to handle the logistics for the re-opening exercise, including re-engagement of a few of the bank’s former employees and refurbishing of some offices, particularly in Lagos and Abuja where the Head Office is located.

The meeting was attended by Mr. Richard Abraham, the SBN’s Interim Board Chairman, Prof. Sam Aluko and Prof. M. Nura Alkali who are both non executive Members of the Interim Board.