News
Government takes over three rescued banks *Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank *Assets transferred to bridge banks
The Federal Government yesterday through the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) assumed ownership of Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank via the “Bridge Bank” mechanism following the revocation of their licenses by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This means the three banks will still be open to customers and continue to operate normally under the control of three bridge banks created by the NDIC to assume their assets.
The Bridge Banks are Enterprise Bank Limited to assume assets of Spring Bank, Keystone Bank Limited to assume assets of Bank PHB, and MainStreet Bank Limited to assume assets of Afribank.
A bridge bank is a temporary bank organized by the regulators to administer the deposits and liabilities of a failed bank. Bridge banks must be chartered as national banks. To the extent possible, bridge banks are required to honoor the commitments of the failed bank to its customers, and not to interrupt or terminate adequately secured loans. Bridge banks are authorized to seek to liquidate failed banks, either by finding buyers for the bank as a going concern, or by liquidating its portfolio of assets, within two years, which can be extended for cause by an additional year.
Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Alhaji Umir Ibrahim disclosed this at a press briefing in Lagos yesterday. He said that the CBN has granted banking licenses to the three bridge banks and have guaranteed their inter-bank obligations until December 31, 2011 to ensure continued operations and customer confidence. He said that each bank will now answer the names of their respective bridge bank while their management and staff are now contractually employees of the bridge banks. He said the law allows the Corporation to operate the bridge banks up to three years.
Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank were among the 10 banks bailed out by the CBN in 2009 with injection of N620 billion tier two capital.
Ibrahim noted that while two of the banks namely Wema Bank and Unity Bank had successfully recapitalised, four banks namely Union Ban, Intercontinental Bank, Finbank and Oceanic Bank have signed legally binding Transaction Implementation Agreement (TIA), a significant step towards recapitalisation by the deadline of September 30th set by the CBN. Equitorial Trust Bank Limited is currently in the final stage of negotiation with a prospective investor with strong likelihood that it will meet the recapitalisation deadline.
However, the remaining three banks (Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank) have not shown necessary capacity and ability to recapitalise within the September 30th deadline.
“Accordingly, in the interest of depositors and to prevent liquidation which will have dire consequences for depositors and undermine public confidence in the banking system, pursuant to the provisions of the NDIC Act, the Corporation, after due consultation with the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Finance and with full support of the Federal Government, has resolved the problems of the three banks through the Bridge Bank mechanism.
To this effect, the assets and liabilities of the affected banks, whose licenses have now being revoked by the CBN, have been duly transferred by the Corporation to newly incorporated Bridge Banks as follows:
MainStreet Bank Limited has assumed the assets and liabilities of Afribank Nigeria PLC; Keystone Bank Limited has assumed the assets and liabilities of Bank PHB PLC; Enterprise Bank Limited has assumed the assest and liabilities of Spring Bank PLC.
“The Corporation is encouraged by the provision of the Bridge Bank option in our law, to resolve the problems in the banking sector. The Bridge Bank option is a veritable tool of enhancing depositor protection and promoting confidence by ensuring seamless continuity of banking operations.
“The NDIC will operate the Bridge Banks until such a time that we engage the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) with a view to recapitalising the bridge banks. AMCON is expected to open up negotiations with investors who may be interested in capitalising the Bridge Banks”.
Meanwhile the CBN in a press statement issued yesterday have affirmed its support for the adoption of the bridge bank mechanism for the resolution of the three rescued banks.
The statement said, “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is aware of, and supports, the decision of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), to exercise its statutory powers under the Nigerian Insurance Deposit Corporation Act, to establish Enterprise Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited, and Mainstreet Bank Limited as Bridge Banks, and by Purchase and Assumption Agreements, cause all the deposit liabilities and certain other liabilities and the assets of Spring Bank Plc, Bank PHB Plc, and Afribank Nigeria, respectively to be assumed by the 3 Bridge Banks, effective 5thAugust 2011.
The NDIC, in its role as insurer of deposits and in pursuance of express statutory powers, acted to ensure that public confidence in the nation’s banking system is not eroded and that depositors’ funds are safe.
The CBN, as the principal promoter of a sound financial system in Nigeria, and as required under the NDIC Act, has issued banking licenses to the Bridge Banks.
Accordingly, the CBN hereby makes the following assurances to the general public:
That the depositors of the Bridge Banks are assured of the safety of all their deposits; The CBN assures seamless business continuity and ability of the Bridge Banks to meet obligations to depositors and lender-creditors as they arise, by granting all waivers, forbearances and exemptions necessary for their operations; That the CBN guarantees the inter-bank obligations of the Bridge Banks until December 31, 2011 to ensure continued operations and customer confidence.”
The CBN, as the principal promoter of a sound financial system in Nigeria, and as required under the NDIC Act, has issued banking licenses to the Bridge Banks.
Accordingly, the CBN hereby makes the following assurances to the general public:
1. That the depositors of the Bridge Banks are assured of the safety of all their deposits.
2. The CBN assures seamless business continuity and ability of the Bridge Banks to meet obligations to depositors and lender-creditors as they arise, by granting all waivers, forbearances and exemptions necessary for their operations.
3. That the CBN guarantees the inter-bank obligations of the Bridge Banks until December 31, 2011 to ensure continued operations and customer confidence
A new technology transfer agreement between the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership (NCSP) and the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT) is expected to open more job opportunities, improve local skills, and expand access to advanced technology for ordinary Nigerians.
In a press statement reaching Vanguard on Friday, the MoU aims to strengthen industrial development, support local content, and create clearer pathways for Nigerians to benefit from China’s growing investments in the country.
PICTT Chairman, Dr Dahiru Mohammed, said the partnership will immediately begin coordinated programmes that support local participation in infrastructure and industrial projects.
Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr John Uwajumogu, said the deal will help attract high value investments that can stimulate job creation and strengthen Nigeria’s economy.
NCSP Head of International Relations, Ms Judy Melifonwu, highlighted that Nigerians stand to gain from expanded STEM scholarships, technical training, access to modern technology, and collaboration across key sectors including steel, agriculture, automobile parks, and cultural industries.
The NCSP Director-General reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to measurable results, noting that the partnership with PICTT will prioritise initiatives that deliver direct national impact.
The MoU signals a new phase of Nigeria–China cooperation focused on practical delivery, local content, and opportunities that improve everyday livelihoods.
EU regulators launched an antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms on Thursday over its rollout of artificial intelligence features in its WhatsApp messenger that would block rivals, hardening Europe’s already tough stance on Big Tech. The move, reported earlier by Reuters and the Financial Times, is the latest action by European Union regulators against large technology firms such as Amazon and Alphabet’s Google as the bloc seeks to balance support for the sector with efforts to curb its expanding influence.
Europe’s tough stance – a marked contrast to more lenient U.S. regulation – has sparked an industry pushback, particularly by U.S. tech titans, and led to criticism from the administration of U. S. President Donald Trump. The European Commission said that the investigation will look into Meta’s new policy that would limit other AI providers’ access to WhatsApp, a potential boost for its own Meta AI system integrated into the platform earlier this year.
EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the move was to prevent dominant firms from “abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors”. She added interim measures could be imposed to block Meta’s new WhatsApp AI policy rollout. “AI markets are booming in Europe and beyond,” she said. This is why we are investigating if Meta’s new policy might be illegal under competition rules, and whether we should act quickly to prevent any possible irreparable harm to competition in the AI space.”
A WhatsApp spokesperson called the claims “baseless”, adding that the emergence of chatbots on its platforms had put a “strain on our systems that they were not designed to support”, a reference to AI systems from other providers. “Still, the AI space is highly competitive and people have access to the services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems.” The EU was the first in the world to establish a comprehensive legal framework for AI, setting out guardrails for AI systems and rules for certain high-risk applications in the AI Act.
Meta AI, a chatbot and virtual assistant, has been built into WhatsApp’s interface across European markets since March. The Commission said a new policy fully applicable from January 15, 2026, may block competing AI providers from reaching customers via the platform. Ribera said the probe came on the back of complaints from small AI developers about the WhatsApp policy. The Interaction Company of California, which has developed AI assistant Poke.com, has taken its grievance to the EU competition enforcer. Spanish AI startup Luzia has also talked to the Commission, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Marvin von Hagen, co-founder and CEO of The Interaction Company of California, said if Meta was allowed to roll out its new policy, “millions of European consumers will be deprived of the possibility of enjoying new and innovative AI assistants”. Meta also risks a fine of as much as 10% of its global annual turnover if found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules.
Italy’s antitrust watchdog opened a parallel investigation in July into allegations that Meta leveraged its market power by integrating an AI tool into WhatsApp, expanding the probe in November to examine whether Meta further abused its dominance by blocking rival AI chatbots from the messaging platform. The antitrust probe is a more traditional means of investigation than the EU’s Digital Markets Act, the bloc’s landmark legislation currently used to scrutinize Amazon’s and Microsoft’s cloud services for potential curbs. Reuters
The spouses and children of billionaires inherited more wealth in 2025 than in any previous year since reporting began in 2015, according to UBS’s Billionaire Ambitions Report published on Thursday. In the 12 months to April, 91 people became billionaires through inheritance, collectively receiving $298 billion, up more than a third from 2024, the Swiss bank said. “These heirs are proof of a multi-year wealth transfer that’s intensifying,” UBS executive Benjamin Cavalli said.
The report is based on a survey of some of UBS’s super-rich clients and a database that tracks the wealth of billionaires across 47 markets in all world regions. At least $5.9 trillion will be inherited by billionaire children over the next 15 years, the bank calculates.
Most of this inheritance growth is set to take place in the United States, with India, France, Germany and Switzerland next on the list, UBS estimated. However, billionaires are highly mobile, especially younger ones, which could change that picture, it added. The search for a better quality of life, geopolitical concerns and tax considerations are driving decisions to relocate, according to the report.
In Switzerland, where $206 billion will be inherited over the next 15 years according to the bank, voters on Sunday overwhelmingly rejected 50 per cent tax on inherited fortunes of $62 million or more, after critics said it could trigger an exodus of wealthy people.
Switzerland, the UAE, the U.S. and Singapore are among billionaires’ preferred destinations, UBS’s Cavalli said. “In Switzerland, Sunday’s vote may have helped to increase the country’s appeal again,” he said. Reuters
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