Heritage Bank leverages on acquisition, expands network

All is set for Heritage Bank to become a national financial institution that will operate and render full commercial banking services across the country.

The new move is the high point of transformation which saw the financial institution acquiring Enterprise Bank from the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON).

The bank, which hitherto operated as a regional bank, with 15 “experience centres”, is expected to increase its presence to about 200 branches, boosted by about 165 branches of Enterprise Bank, spread across the country.

According to a statement from the bank, “with this acquisition, we are better positioned to offer you unparalleled banking services which spreads across over 200 branches, 177 ATMs, 57 cash centres and 2000 POS terminals in 26 states.

We shall harness the best of the two worlds combined in terms of our innovative products, bespoke technology and extended branch network manned by a team of tenacious people; as this automatically transforms our bank from a tier-2 player to a strong tier-1 player that is one! bigger! better!.”

The bank restated its commitment to building on “the existing quest for quintessential banking service delivery, guided by passion and sustained through our brand architecture that exudes quality service, performance, respect, integrity, innovation, tenacity and excellence as core values.

We also want to affirm our commitment to all stakeholders and we would neither relent nor go back on our promise of creating, preserving and transferring wealth across generations.”

Heritage Bank had, on October 15, last year, made successful completion of the acquisition of Enterprise Bank, after investing about N56 billion in the deal.

A federal high court sitting in Lagos on July 27th 2015 ordered an Extra-ordinary General Meeting of all the parties to the deal. This was held on Wednesday, August 12th August, 2015, where the shareholders of the merging banks sealed the deal.

On 27th January 2015, AMCON officially transferred ownership of Enterprise Bank Limited to Heritage Banking Company Limited. “With the acquisition of Enterprise Bank, we are sure we are going to get much bigger organisation that will have the same ethos as Heritage Bank as it stands today, where innovation, transfer of wealth, creation of wealth is our mantra, and that is what is going to happen,” THE Managing Director of the bank, Ifie Sekibo, said recently in Lagos. Heritage Bank commenced operations in March 2013 and the total asset valuation of the bank was estimated at about N31 billion.

Its shareholders’ equity is worth at least N10 billion, the minimum capital requirement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for regional banks.

According to the management, the new Heritage Bank will be led by a “tenacious team, committed to delivering distinctive financial services, building on our legacy of innovation and partnership to create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations.” Heritage Bank recently achieved a milestone with the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification award in recognition of its commitment to effective and secured financial system.

The bank has also set a record as the only bank in Nigeria to get this certification award in less than three years of operation. It has, by this certification, joined the league of big players already certified in the industry, including the Central Bank of Nigeria.