LAGOS, OCTOBER 8, 2018 – Following its recent transformation from Skye Bank Plc to Polaris Bank Limited, Group Managing Director of the bridge bank, Mr Tokunbo Abiru has assured its customers of the massive increase in its current asset and deposit liabilities such that Polaris bank becomes one of the first five banks in Nigeria, within the next five years.
Abiru premised this resolve on the continued implementation of the July 2016 regulatory intervention to include entrenching sound corporate governance and risk management practices and transforming Polaris into fully fledged retail and commercial bank with strong digital backing.
Abiru brought these resolves to the fore while speaking during the graduation of 61 graduate trainees of Polaris Business School, held at Polaris Bank Training School, Ibadan, at the weekend.
He added that the Polaris bank boasted of a strong market share going by several transformative business initiatives and remained one of the most liquid and most capitalized banks in Nigeria.
“We are a systemically important bank and we also currently rank number nine in the banking industry, so our emphasis will be on all the improvements we have achieved in terms of corporate governance which has laid a very strong foundation for us, very robust risk management.
“What we see in the future is a bank that in the next three to five years is one of the first five banks in Nigeria; a fully fledged retail bank with strong digital backing. So our stakeholders will get more of enhanced values which are clearly different from the bank of the past.
“What we see in the next five years is a stronger retail and commercial with an underpinning for digital transformation. I see a major transformation of the bank. Part of the initiatives we continue to deliver following the July 2016 regulatory intervention include stabilizing the institution, entrenching sound corporate governance and risk management practices, and the restoration of depositors’ confidence,” Abiru said.
Addressing the graduating students, Abiru tasked them on commitment to service, problem solving, economic development of the country and on the need to place high premium on ethics and corporate governance.
“We are building the foundation of our financial institution and the bedrock has to be training. We must let them know the values they should stand for and the kind of understanding that they must bring to bear when they are coming into the real world. It’s about inculcating our values in the new set of graduates that we are bringing on board.
“They have to buy into the values of the institution and topmost on that is the need to place high premium on ethics and corporate governance.
In their remarks, two of the newly employed staff of Polaris bank, Chinonso Nwakaudu and Sandra Onachukwu, lauded the training for teaching them work-life balance, how to manage people, tolerance and resilience.
