CBN Confirms Beatrice Bassey As Union Bank Board Chairman

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the appointment of Beatrice Hamza Bassey as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.

In a statement on Friday, Somuyiwa Sonubi, Company Secretary of Union Bank stated that Hamza Bassey, who had earlier been appointed in acting capacity was formally confirmed as the substantive chairman by the CBN.

Hamza Bassey, a lawyer by training replaces erstwhile chairman Cyril Odu, who died in September 2019.

The statement read, “This is to inform the Nigerian Exchange Limited, esteemed shareholders and other stakeholders that following the appointment of Beatrice Hamza Bassey as the Acting Chairman, Board of Directors (‘the Board’) of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc (‘the Bank’), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed the appointment of Mrs Beatrice Hamza Bassey as the substantive Chair of the Board of Directors and the Bank.”

According to Union Bank, Beatrice Hamza Bassey joined the Board of Union Bank as a Non-Executive Director in 2015. She is currently the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Atlas Mara Limited, a publicly listed financial services company that operates banks in various parts of Africa

“She is a lawyer of great repute with extensive experience in corporate governance and financial institutions, she is an authority in compliance and represents clients globally in compliance and anti-corruption matters.

“In addition to overseeing Compliance, Corporate Governance and Legal Affair across all its subsidiaries, Hamza Bassey has led Atlas Mara’s acquisition and integration of the nine banks it has acquired to date as well as several strategic initiatives.

Through her current service on the boards and board committees of public companies, Hamza Bassey has garnered in-depth knowledge of corporate governance best practices and trends.

“Prior to the aforementioned, she was a Senior Partner in the New York offices of Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, a premier Wall Street law firm where she was a member of the Executive Committee. During her almost two decades at Hughes Hubbard, Mrs Hamza Bassey represented a roster of US and international financial institutions and other corporations in a wide range of industries on issues along the full spectrum of compliance.

“Hamza Bassey holds an LLB in Law from the University of Maiduguri, a BL from the Nigerian Law School and an LLM from Harvard Law School. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1995 and the New York Bar in 1999. She is a fellow of the prestigious David Rockefeller Fellows Programme of the Partnership for New York City.”