TAJ Bank seeks national licence

•Breaks even in eight months

Nigeria’s second non-interest Bank, Taj Bank, has revealed that it broke in its first eight months of operation, a rare feat that takes some bank’s many years to accomplish.

The Bank, which already has five branches, including the National Assembly Abuja, Abuja Corporate Headquarters, Kano, and Lagos, hopes to expand to the North East states of Borno and Gombe before the end of the first quarter (Q1) of this financial year.

Thereafter, it hopes to expand operations across the entire states of the Federation when its national licence would have been granted by the banking sector regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by the Q1 end.

These were unfolded by TAJ Bank Founder/Chief Operating Officer, Hamid Joda, and Co Founder/Chief Marketing Officer, Sherif Idi, when The Guardian Newspapers, Abuja Bureau, led by its General Manager, Abuja/Northern Region, Auwal Sa’id Mu’azu, paid a courtesy visit to the Bank.

Joda also indicated that within the short span of operation, the Bank had contributed in reducing unemployment with the recruitment of 213 staff with a potential for many folds increase once the CBN awards it a national license.

He said; “Within this short span, we have also won three key operational awards, namely: Bank of the Year: Best Non-Interest Banking in Nigeria; and Best Islamic Bank in the World.”

He noted that non-interest banking holds several benefits, which most Nigerians are unaware of, and sought the partnership of stakeholders in educating the public on such benefits.

The Guardian’s General Manager, Mu’azu, had earlier explained that the visit was to identify and consolidate corporate relation with TAJ Bank and increase awareness in the area of non-interest banking in Nigeria, and to also congratulate it for its expansion drive within its short existence.
He assured that The Guardian Newspapers was ready to partner with TAJ Bank on its vision by educating the masses about its unique selling points.