GTBank to announce major board changes

Indications are rife that Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) may announce a new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer this week, following Mr Segun Agbaje retirement, after leading it for 10 years.

The financial institution had last year announced that Agbaje would be retiring from the bank which he helmed as the MD/CEO since 2011, spending 10 years in the process. He turned the financial institution into a global brand and supervised the process of the bank operating a holding company (Holdco).

However, The Daily Times checks showed that the Banks and other Financial Institutions (BOFIA) Act 2020, which was reviewed last year in recognition of the need to address current realities in the financial landscape and achieve globally acceptable standards in the regulation of the sector is silent on the power of banks’ boards in the selection of the directors.

But the Companies And Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, under the Effectiveness of the board, stated that decision-making is an important board activity and the quantity and quality of t decision will translate into progress for the company.

“The quality and effectiveness of the board could easily be improved by the presence of a dominant personality on the board or a dominant group.

This must have informed the provisions in the CBN Code which limited government direct and indirect equity holding in any bank to 10 per cent by the end of 2007 and also no individual is permitted to own more than 10 per cent equity in banks without CBN approval”, it stated.

To this end, The Daily Times gathered that at the weekend GTBank concluded the restructuring that started eight months ago, which will see two current Executive Directors of the bank, Bolaji Lawal and Demola Odeyemi, retiring along with the MD/CEO.

This development is believed to have paved the ways for the emergence of Miriam Olusanya as the incoming Managing Director of the bank under the Holdco structure.

In this line, he would assume the position of the MD/CEO of GTBank Nigeria.

Similarly, out of the nine general managers, it was learnt that, four GMs have been asked to leave.

Checks by The Daily Times, however, showed that the GM, Risk, George Uwakwe; GM, Corporate Bank, Lagos Mainland, Femi Akerewusi; GM, Systems and Control Division, Segun Fadahunsi and chief compliance officer, Subuola Abraham have all been relieved of their jobs.

Hence, the new structure of the bank under a Holdco has brought in fresh appointments with John Thomas to become the managing director, West Africa, GTBank Holding company; Bayo Vera Cruz as MD, East Africa;

Angela Koech, Regional chief financial officer, East Africa and Caleb Osei, Regional CFO, West Africa.

Others are: Olumide Oguntuase – Divisional Head, ERM; Olayinka Odusote – Divisional head, Digital banking;

Osa Aimerioghene – CCO Compliance group; Muinat Lanre Kasim, Divisional Head Syscom and Ijeoma Esemudje, Divisiona Head, Corporate bank/Mainland/Agric.

Speaking on the succession plan, last year, Agbaje explained: “what we are looking for now is a managing director for Guaranty Trust Bank, Nigeria.

The process has started and I have always told people that we have five executive directors and so, all of them are going through a process at the moment.

“We are working with a consulting firm in the United Kingdom. We are looking at what we think the future would hold and what we think the Nigerian banking industry would look like.

“At the end of the process which would end at the beginning of the fourth quarter have a managing director for GTBank Nigeria.

So, we are on track. So, succession to GTBank Nigeria is well under control.”

Earlier, the shareholders of GTBank Plc had approved the holding company structure for the bank, as they expressed excitement over the benefits they would derive from the new structure.

Commenting on this development, Professor of Capital Market, Prof Uche Uwaleke, said banks boards have the power to appoint Managing Directors and other top officials.

According to him, ” yes they can appoint but has to be with the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Even the CBN Governor in his statement recently admitted that it is within the powers of the Board of a Bank to effect changes in the Management of the bank but that has to be with the approval of the CBN.

“So, GTBank Board is expected to notify the CBN of any change it plans to make”, he said.