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Keystone Bank appoints Hafiz Bakare as Acting Chief Executive Officer

29 Mar 2017, 02:03 pm
Financial Nigeria
Keystone Bank appoints Hafiz Bakare as Acting Chief Executive Officer

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- In the transitional arrangement, Umaru Modibbo, was appointed the Chairman of the bank’s Board of Directors. 


The management of Keystone Bank Limited has announced the appointment of Hafiz Bakare as Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank. The appointment was announced following the sale of the bank last week by Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to a consortium of Nigerian investors.

AMCON announced Sigma Golf-Riverbank consortium (comprising of Sigma Golf Nigeria Limited and Riverbank Investment Resources Limited) as the preferred buyer of Keystone Bank following a rigorous and competitive bidding process. Formerly Bank PHB, the bank is the last of the three bridge banks AMCON divested from. The other two are Mainstreet Bank (formerly Afribank), which was acquired by Skye Bank for N126 billion; and Enterprise Bank (formerly Spring Bank), which was acquired by Heritage Bank for N56 billion.

Bakare’s appointment is effective from April 1st.

He is currently the Executive Director, Corporate Bank and Treasury at Keystone Bank, overseeing the Lagos and West Directorate. Before his appointment to the board of the bank in July 2014, Bakare was MD/CEO of H.B.O. Consulting, a capacity development firm he founded. Originally a Pharmacist by training, he also worked with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).

His banking career started in First Bank of Nigeria in 2006 as Chief Strategic Officer, handling business development, mergers and acquisitions, brand development and economic intelligence. By 2009 Bakare became Head of Products at First Bank, where he was responsible for the bank’s product portfolio. In November 2009, he moved to Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) as the Group Director, Corporate Planning and Strategy.

Keystone Bank also announced the appointment of other new board members in a transitional governance arrangement to take effect from April 1st, subject to approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In the transitional arrangement, Umaru Modibbo, was appointed the Chairman of the bank’s Board of Directors. The current board members of the bank will be disengaged alongside Phillip Ikeazor, the current MD/CEO of Keystone Bank, by March 31. Only Bakare and Yvonne Isichei, who is currently the bank’s Executive Director, Operations and Technology, would remain on the new board.


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