(L-R) Mazi Sam Ohabunwa, chairman, NESG discussing with Professor Sylvester Monye, representative of the minister of national planning at a recent public forum in Lagos.

Bailed-out bank chief executives are now making frantic efforts to secure their employment by making sure that only private equity firms are picked to acquire their banks in preference to other banks. Our investigations reveal that the CBN-appointed interim managing directors for the bailed-out banks are now sellers and buyers of the banks which were put to their trust without recourse to the shareholders of the banks.
BusinessWorld Intelligence can also now reveal that the banks involved in the recapitalization parley have technically rejected the few banks that have shown interest in the bid process by not giving them the opportunity or co-operation to move beyond any critical stage. At least, five banks have shown consistent interest in the recapitalization process of the bailed-out banks and have prepared grounds to open up full discussions with the stakeholders before they were carefully discouraged from continuing.
Our investigations reveal that the managing directors of the bailed-out banks are only keen in any recapitalization discussion that will offer them the opportunity of staying as the post recapitalization CEOs for a number of years. The bailed-out bank CEOs are telling the bidders that the banks will gain confidence easily with them as managing directors than bringing in new people.
Because the interested banks will likely buy into the banks and move in with their staff as helmsmen, the executives of the bailed-out banks are opposed to their expression of interest and are believed to have convinced the apex bank to toe their own line. They are believed to have insisted on this deal based on the fact that the CBN may not extend their tenure after the first two years which times out middle of next year based on their current level of performance. Already, managing directors of three bailed-out banks are believed to have lost CBN's support due to poor performance.
Further investigations also reveal that some of the private equity firms that are favoured by the bailed-out bank chiefs are mere speculators who see he banks as still healthy and, therefore would be able to recoup their investments within two years. There is the belief that the bank chiefs may willingly cause the banks to be grossly undervalued in return for the concession for them to manage the banks. There are strong indications that the current financial reports of the banks indicate that some of them are largely profitable and such core investors can easily recoup their investments and move out.
Apart from Capital Alliance which looks good for Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, there are other private equity firms that have been spotted as being positioned by the executives of Springbank Plc, Intercontinental Bank Plc and Oceanic Bank International Plc. There are indications that CBN may be forced to come up with a guideline on the acquisition of the banks to ensure transparency.