Banking
SGBN, now Heritage Bank, commences operations today
……Inherited N21bn deposit base…* Core investor owns 80% shares, Saraki family holds 9%…
LAGOS: Society Generale Bank which regained its operating license about three years ago will today open its doors for business. The bank will operate under a new name Heritage Bank. The shareholding structure of the new bank showed that 80 per cent of the new bank is owned by a core investor, 9 per cent by Saraki family (owners of SGBN) and the remaining g 11 per cent to depositors of the bank.
The new bank emerged from former Societal Generale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN) having met the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s requirement to operate as a regional bank. It decided to begin operation today at the end of the re validation of account exercise of its old customers which came to a close last week.
Speaking to Biztellers on Friday at the Heritage Bank Night, Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, of the N21 billion deposit base it inherited from SGBN, customers have withdrawn close to 60 per cent amounting to N12.6 billion. But only 15 per cent of such customers have responded to the bank’s verification exercise. Continuing, Sekibo said three branches will be opened at the monent, two in Lagos and one at Ibadan.
Speaking at the event , Chairman, Heritage Bank, Mr. Akinsola Akinfemiwa, said, “We are going to be focusing majorly on Small and medium businesses to ensure that we boost their operation. We are not there to compete with the so called big banks; our services are going to be quite different from what other banks do. We will work closely with the small and medium businesses to nurture them to greater height. We will be enlightening them on her to keep proper books of accounting, how to manage their businesses and make them grow.
Continuing, he said, “our services is going to be technology driven. We may not have many branches, but we are going to deploy technology to reach our customers. It should be noted that SGBN pioneered Automated Teller Machine (ATM) which many thought will never work. But today it is working and making withdrawal easier for people. We are going to do same as we resume operation, our employees have been trained, we attach importance to technology, excellence, professionalism, innovation, dynamism, tenacity and solutions.”
It would be recalled that SGBN is one of the two banks whose licenses were recently restored by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following court orders nullifying the revocation of their licenses. The second bank, Savana Bank, is also preparing to return to the banking industry any time from now. SGBN which has now resurfaced in the Nigerian banking scene as Heritage Bank has commenced full banking operations. It began accounts verification of customers of defunct SGBN on January 28, 2013 to give customers opportunity to either withdraw their money or reactivate their accounts with the new bank.
Biztellers investigation at some of the centres designated for customers to verify their accounts balances show that some of the customers of SGBN who had lost hope of regaining their trapped money trooped into the designated centres to re validate their accounts and take possession of the money they thought was lost.
Investigation revealed that Heritage Bank provided thirteen designated centres across the country for customers of former SGBN to re validate their accounts and collect instant cheques of the value outstanding in their accounts if desired. The centres which are spread over eleven States/Cities included Lagos, Oyo, Kwara, Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Zamfara, Kaduna and FCT.
It was also gathered that Heritage Bank would operate as a Regional bank with a capital base of N10 billion. On how many branches the Bank is likely to have when it starts operation, sources within the bank said, “The process and modalities for commencement of operations are still being worked out and perfected. As soon as these are finalized, we will inform you. For now, it is preposterous to hazard any guess.”
The aim of the re validation exercise according to the bank is to possibly pay all customers of SGBN who came to participate in the exercise and cheques were issued to those who requested for their deposit at the validation centres immediately their accounts were successfully validated. When Biztellers visited some of the centres in Lagos, few people were seen collecting their cheques.
Sources close to the bank said, “It is not compulsory for customers to forcefully bank with Heritage Bank. However, any of the customers who willingly want to retain his/her account with the new Heritage Bank could exercise that option.”
It was gathered that some of the customers had asked for their validated SGBN accounts to be retained with the upcoming Heritage Bank, but nobody was coerced or forced to do this as many others have opted to collect their money.
According to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity “The bank would be sending pictures of people being paid at the centres to you and a few other media partners very soon. As the exercise was on Biztellers investigation on the level of compliance had showed that the turnout continued to improve in all the centres; more and more people are now visiting the centres, having put away initial skepticism. And the management of Heritage Bank is happy and satisfied that Nigerians who had already lost hope of recovering their trapped funds in the old SGBN are now actually collecting their money at the validation centres, thereby getting a priceless opportunity to move on from the trauma of the past years.
Meanwhile, one significant highpoint of the account validation exercise, which kicked off on Tuesday 29 January, 2013 for customers of the defunct SGBN is the immediate issuance of payment cheques to customers whose accounts are successfully validated.
Investigations conducted across some designated centres showed that the exercise was in two parts namely verification of accounts and instant issuance of payment of cheques for those who prefer to collect their balances in their accounts with defunct SGBN. At the AIB plaza centre in Lagos, an official who asked not to be named stated that the management of the new Heritage Bank has put everything in place to ensure that all SGBN customers who turn up for the month-long exercise went back satisfied. In her words, “Management has made adequate arrangement for everybody and we have the financial strength to pay everybody if the need arises”.
On the modality for account validation, the official said Savings account holders are expected to come with means of identification such as driver’s licence, passport or national identity card, as well as their cash withdrawal forms and deposit slips. For Current and Corporate accounts, holders are expected to present their cheque books or cheque stumbs.
“The process is simple, hassle-free and technology-driven to ensure that customers that turn up do not have to wait endlessly. We just call up the customer’s number from our server base at the head office. Once this appears, the customer’s picture is taken and stored and the form is passed on to the Validation officer through the control officer, for the account to be verified, including the balance in such account. Once this is done, the customer is referred to the cashiers who instantly write cheques for those that want their account balance paid”, the official explained.
Though turnout of customers was yet to pick up at the various centres visited during the first week of the exercise, the sources who spoke with Biztellers attributed it to customer apathy due to the failure of such exercises conducted on behalf of SGBN by CBN in the past.
A Lagos-based financial analyst, Jaye Opaleye, noted that most customers would still be having doubt about how the current exercise would be different from the past ones. It would be recalled that in 2005, SGBN customers were asked to come for the validation of their accounts, but nothing tangible came out of the exercise. “ So, it is expected that the turnout now would be tentative. But with the way Heritage Bank is conducting the exercise, especially the aspect of issuing payment cheques to customers at the validation centers, one could see that they are very serious and prompt. It is a really different attitude and style which is a mark of integrity and a boost for the new bank and the banking sector generally”, Opaleye noted.
Customers interviewed in some of the centres expressed happiness at finally having the opportunity to reclaim their trapped monies after many years. According to a happy, middle-aged customer at the Akoka centre who waved his cheque excitedly, the current exercise by Heritage Bank has ended his long wait. “I am really happy that after so many years, we, depositors of SGBN can now smile again. This is a good development indeed and a credit to the new bank- Heritage Bank- because this exercise has just been fantastic. It took just a few minutes for them to resolve my issue and settle me.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) “over the failure to account for and explain the whereabouts of the missing or diverted N3 trillion of public funds, including the over N629 billion paid to ‘unknown beneficiaries’ as part of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.”
The lawsuit followed the grave allegations contained in the latest annual report by the Auditor-General of the Federation, which was published on 9 September 2025.
In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/250/2026 filed last week at the Federal High Court in Abuja, SERAP stated that it is seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel the CBN to account for and explain the whereabouts of the missing or diverted N3 trillion of public funds, including detailed reports of how exactly the funds were spent.”
In the suit, SERAP is arguing that, “These grim allegations by the Auditor-General suggest grave violations of the public trust, the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the CBN Act, and anticorruption standards.”
SERAP is also arguing that, “These grave violations also reflect a failure of CBN accountability more generally and are directly linked to the institution’s persistent failure to comply with its Act and to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability.”
CBN Gov, Olayemi Cardoso
According to SERAP, “These violations have seriously undermined the ability of the CBN to effectively discharge its statutory functions and the public trust and confidence in the bank. The CBN ought to be committed to transparency and accountability in its operations.”
SERAP also stated in its suit that, “Nigerians have the right to know the whereabouts of the missing or diverted public funds. Granting the reliefs sought would advance the right of Nigerians to restitution, compensation and guarantee of non-repetition.”
SERAP said, “Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power. Section 13 of the Constitution imposes clear responsibility on the CBN to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution.”
The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Oluwakemi Agunbiade and Valentina Adegoke, read in part: “According to the Auditor-General, the CBN in 2022 failed to remit over N1 trillion [N1,445,593,400,000.00] of ‘the Federal Government’s portion of operating surplus’ into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) account.”
“The Auditor-General fears that the money may have been ‘diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The CBN also failed to recover over N629 billion [N629,040,000,000.00] paid to ‘unknown beneficiaries’ as part of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, a programme ‘meant to support farmers to ensure sustainable food production in the country.’”
“But ‘the numbers of beneficiaries who collected the money are unknown.’ The CBN has also failed to ‘recover the money.’ The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted’, which could have ‘contributed to the difficulty in sustaining food security in the Nation.’”
“He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The CBN has also failed to recover over N784 billion [N784,410,108,864.47] ‘being 32 unpaid, overdue loans and interventions disbursed by the Bank between 2018 and May 2022.’”
“The Auditor-General said ‘there was no evidence that the Bank was doing enough to recover the loans/interventions, which ought to have been paid.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The CBN in 2022 also spent over N125 billion [N125,374,000,000.00] ‘on questionable intervention activities.’ The CBN claimed it spent the money ‘on intervention activities in connection with national security, the federal government, state securities, armed forces and to build the capacity of the financial sector’.”
“But the Auditor-General is concerned that the money may have been spent ‘without the approval of the National Assembly.’ There was also no document to ‘support the expenditure.’”
“The ‘expenditure also may not have been in the public interest and consistent with the objectives of the CBN in section 2 of the CBN Act.’ The Auditor-General fears the money may have been ‘diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The CBN in 2022 also ‘unjustifiably’ spent over N1 billion [N1,792,769,160.00] to buy 43 operational vehicles for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).”
“According to the Auditor-General, ‘the spending is unjustified because there is no connection with buying operational vehicles for the NIS and the objectives of the CBN as stated in section 2 of the CBN Act.’”
“The NIS also ‘failed to provide any evidence to show that the vehicles were actually supplied and delivered.’ There ‘were also no procurement and payment records or documents.’ The Auditor-General fears the money may have been ‘diverted’. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The CBN also awarded 43 contracts for over N189 billion [N189,50,066,756.73]. The Auditor-General said that ‘the contractors deliberately delayed completion of these contracts by seeking extension of the completion period.’”
“The contractors then ‘requested for variation of the contracts due to extension of completion period.’ Following the request, the CBN paid the contractors over N9 billion [N9,270,849,691.61] ‘irregular variation of contract price.’”
“There ‘were no relevant procurement documents such as contract files, procurement records, and payment vouchers’ for the payment. The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted’ and the projects may have been abandoned.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The Katsina state branch of the CBN also failed to recover over N90 million [N90,163,610.00] being ‘outstanding loans and interventions disbursed to 33 small and medium enterprises during Covid 19 in 2020.’”
“The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been ‘diverted’ or ‘mismanaged’. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“Paragraph 3112(ii) of the Financial Regulations 2009 provides: ‘Where a public officer fails to account for government revenue, such officer shall be surcharged for the full amount involved and such officer shall be handed over to either the EFCC or the ICPC.’”
“Section 51 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act provides that, ‘A person shall have legal capacity to enforce the provision of this Act by obtaining prerogative orders or other remedies at the Federal High Court, without having to show any special particular interest.’”
“The Nigerian Constitution, Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding their public institutions’ activities.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
Banking
Millions of customers still stranded worldwide 24 hours after GT Bank online operations suffered attacks
By Yemie ADEOYE
GT Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading banks, with operations across Africa and the United kingdom, and with an asset base of about US$3.11 trillion is under a cyber attack which has left millions of its customers across the world stranded in the last 24 hours.
The bank which was renowned for its seamless online operations at inception has suffered dwindling online efficiency in recent years and this current attack didn’t come as a surprise to many of its numerous customers. However, it is becoming worrisome that over 24 hours after its online operations went down, the bank has not been able to arrest the situation and restore its online services.
Stranded GT Bank customers outside the banks premises
Several customers of the bank took to their X (formerly known as twitter) handles to express their frustrations at the bank, as several of the customers in the diaspora are unable to access their accounts and carry on with their transactions. A customer , Jeff55 who lamented on his X handle about the development, stated that it is a thing of shock that a bank of this size couldn’t afford to have the necessary tools and experts to ensure a full protection of its online operations in this age and time.
Another customer Dimma stated that while Cybersecurity training may seem tedious, the recent #GTBank hack is a stark reminder that everyone is just a click away from a devastating attack.
Several media organisations had reported that hackers have stolen GT Bank website, and intercepted customers Data in massive phishing operation.
At the time of filing this report, Biztellers.com.ng checks on the banks website shows that it is still down and unaccessible, and neither GT Bank media and communications unit nor any of its agencies or surrogates have commented officially on the development.
Says output surge buoyed by reforms he announced in May 2024 to address gaps in PIA
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday declared a resurgence in the oil & gas industry, commending the increased crude production to 1.6 million barrels per day.
The president, who said this in a national broadcast, maintained that the resurgence was buoyed by the reforms he announced in May 2024 to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Nigeria’s crude oil output got a boost to 1.61 million barrels per day in July 2024 through the president’s directive and the industry leadership provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Acknowledging what he called a resurgence of the once-declining oil and gas industry in his Sunday-morning broadcast to the nation, President Tinubu said that oil investors are coming back to Nigeria.
He said; “Our once-declining oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence on the back of the reforms I announced in May 2024 to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act. Last month, we increased our oil production to 1.61 million barrels per day, and our gas assets are receiving the attention they deserve. Investors are coming back, and we have already seen two Foreign Direct Investments signed of over half a billion dollars since then.
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“Fellow Nigerians, we are a country blessed with both oil and gas resources, but we met a country that had been dependent solely on oil-based petrol, neglecting its gas resources to power the economy.
We were also using our hard-earned foreign exchange to pay for and subsidise its use. To address this, we immediately launched our Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG) to power our transportation economy and bring costs down.
This will save over two trillion Naira a month, being used to import PMS and AGO and free up our resources for more investment in healthcare and education.
“To this end, we will be distributing a million kits of extremely low or no cost to commercial vehicles that transport people and goods and who currently consume 80% of the imported PMS and AGO.
“We have started the distribution of conversion kits and the setting up of conversion centres across the country in conjunction with the private sector. We believe that this CNG initiative will reduce transportation costs by approximately 60 per cent and help to curb inflation.”
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