The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday, issued a ‘No Objection’ notice to a deal, for the Fidelity Bank to take over the Union Bank of Nigeria, United Kingdom branch.
A document published on Tuesday by Nigerian Exchange indicated that Fidelity Bank announced that it has entered into a deal to buy 100 per cent stake in the United Kingdom unit of Nigeria’s second oldest lender, Union Bank.
A statement by the Company Secretary, Fidelity Bank, Ezinwa Unuigboje, on August 30, noted that the Union Bank UK commenced operations in London in 1983.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc; Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, said the deal was their plan for expansion of their service.
“This transaction aligns with our strategic plan of expanding our service touchpoints beyond the Nigerian market and providing straight-through services that meet and exceed the needs of our growing clients.
“The diverse service bouquet and business model of Union Bank UK offered a compelling synergy, and we hope to build on the existing capacity to create a scalable and more sustaining service franchise that will support the wider ecosystem of our trade businesses and diaspora banking services,” she said.
According to the statement, the deal to take over the 100 per cent stake in the United Kingdom unit of the Union Bank was subject to the approval of the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) of the United Kingdom.
This is not the first step taking by Union Bank in it’s phases of divestments.
Recall that last year, Union Bank offloaded 90 per cent of its shareholding to a new owner, Titan Trust.