The Nation Newspaper

Tag: SKYE BANK

  • Skye Bank lauds women as change agents

    Skye Bank lauds women as change agents

    Group Managing Director/CEO of Skye Bank Plc, Tokunbo Abiru, has extolled the role of women as change agents in the society. The bank joined the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD).

    The IWD, marked every March 8, is a global day and an important opportunity to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the world as well as help  drive positive change for womenfolk.

    Abiru praised the resilience of women, who according to him, have over the years, shown what great pillar of support they can be; This, he explained, informed the decision of Skye Bank to evolve Skye Pearl; a women focused empowerment initiative.

    He affirmed that, “Skye Pearl Initiative supports the economic and financial growth of women through provision of platforms for gender empowerment; capacity development and networking opportunities  for women”.

    Members of the Skye Pearl community enjoy such benefits as; mentoring by key female industry leaders; partnerships with women organizations where women can meet with other peers to connect and share experiences; as well as access loans on concessionary terms.

    “Our partnership with Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA’s) Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) has brought about enhanced capacity building for women and their businesses. We have trained over 25 women entrepreneurs on book keeping and budgeting, and our intention is to continue to support women in several spheres of life”.

  • Skye Bank presents cheque to promo winner

    Skye Bank presents cheque to promo winner

    Olusola Olusegun Ezekiel who emerged the first winner and a Millionnaire at the on-going Skye Bank’s flagship ‘Reach for the Skye Millionaire reward promo’ season II has been presented with a cheque of one for the cash prize.
    At the event on Thursday, an elated Ezekiel described the feeling as surreal than real, lauding the bank for the wonderful reward initiative which, he said, would transform lives and empower the indigents.
    At the draw, 40 other customers of the bank walked away with consolation rewards of N100, 000 for 10; and N50, 000 to another 10 customers, while 20 loyal customers won N20, 000 with new customers who opened account at the venue winning consolation gift like Blenders, Standing Fan and Electric iron among other gift items.
    The monthly draw which attracted mammoth crowd of passersby and customers of the bank at the Popular Benson Bus Stop, Behind BRT Motor Park in Ikorodu, Lagos, also saw the winner who incidentally is a customer of Skye Bank at the Ikorodu main branch of the Bank, emerge through an open and transparent electronic ballot.
    The traditional ruler, while sharing his joy at the event, commended Skye Bank for its commitment to financial inclusion, building entrepreneurs’ and empowering SME.
    Skye Bank Plc is using the ‘Reach for the Skye Millionaire’ promo to reward customers for their loyalty. Season I of the reward promo produced over 37 millionaires; 48 customers won N250, 000 and over a 120 customers went home with N100, 000 each and other household consolation prizes.

  • Skye Bank promotes 300 workers

    Skye Bank promotes 300 workers

    Skye Bank has announced the promotion of over 300 workers after last year’s annual  performance review.

    The promotion, which cuts across cadres of staff up to managerial level, is in line with the bank’s effort to reward staff who performed creditably in their various roles during the past financial year.

    The bank also announced that it compensated some staff in the senior management cadre with monetary reward for their diligence and productivity while a handful of staff who failed in the performance appraisal were kicked out.

    The management of the bank has since approved payment of the entitlement and severance packages to the exited staff as contained in their engagement letters and as agreed with the workers union.

    While announcing the outcome of the yearly performance exercise, the bank’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Tokunbo Abiru, congratulated all staff of the bank on their hard work in the last financial year, especially given the challenging operating environment.

    According to him, “We will continue to reward our staff who display high level of commitment towards their responsibilities and the bank’s strategic objectives.”

    Abiru continued: “A performance-driven organisation is critical to the achievement of the bank’s overarching objectives.”

  • Skye Bank announces resignation of four EDs

    Skye Bank Plc has notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) of the voluntary resignation of four of its Executive Directors from the services of the bank.

    This is contained in a notification letter signed by the bank’s Company Secretary / General Counsel, Mr Babatunde Osibodu pasted on the NSE website on Friday.

    The letter stated that the affected directors were Mr Idris Yakubu, Mrs Markie Idowu, Mrs Abimbola Izu and Mr Bayo Sanni.

    It said that the directors had served in the executive management capacity for nearly two years and had been part of the new board of the bank which came into being following the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria on July 4 2016.

    The letter quoted Mr Tokunbo Abiru, the bank’s Group Managing Director, as saying that the executive directors had contributed immensely to the successful leadership transition which commenced last year.

    The bank also “announced that the new development does not in any way affect the smooth running of the bank as it continues to deliver services to its customers across the country.”

    It added that the portfolios of the directors had been assigned to some general managers to ensure a seamless transition. (NAN)

  • Four Skye Bank directors resign

    Four Skye Bank directors resign

    Skye Bank on Friday confirmed that four of its Executive Directors have immediately left the bank.

    The bank said the affected directors who had served in executive management capacity for almost two years, left after voluntarily tendering their resignation.

    The affected directors who had been in executive positions were also part of the re-constituted board of the bank since the July 4, 2016 intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, include Idris Yakubu, Markie Idowu, Abimbola Izu and Bayo Sanni.

    The bank said to ensure that the departure of the top officials did not disrupt the smooth leadership progression and service delivery to its customers; all General Managers have been re-assigned.

    The new senior officers who would oversee the affected directorates include Segun Opeke, who would be in charge of the Lagos Commercial Directorate, comprising Corporate, Commercial and Retail.

    The other officers include Ayo Abina, to supervise the South directorate, while Femi Aribaloye would oversee the Risk Management Directorate.

    The new appointments take immediate effect.

    The Group Managing Director of the Bank, Tokunbo Abiru, thanked the Executive Directors for their services to the bank, saying they contributed immensely to the successful leadership transition of Skye Bank, which commenced last year.

  • More millionaires to emerge in Skye Bank’s promo

    Skye Bank is again set to make more millionaires out of Nigerians in its repackaged ‘Reach For The Skye Millionaire’, reward, Season II. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the bank.

    The Season II, which officially kicked off in January 2017, promises to deliver more benefits to the public compared to Season 1 of the scheme, which changed many lives and made over 36 millionaires of many erstwhile ordinary Nigerians across various segments of the economy.

    Speaking on the Scheme, the bank’s Executive Director, Retail and Lagos Commercial Banking, Mrs. Markie Idowu, said the scheme was intended to give back to customers and encourage savings among Nigerians. She noted that the last season made 36 millionaires, and stressed that the scheme is not to reward the elite, but everyone, irrespective of social status.

    Mrs. Idowu also thanked past winners from season 1 and said the bank looked forward to producing more millionaires in the season II.

    The bank’s Group Head of Retail Banking, Mr. Ndubuisi Osakwe, who also spoke at the launch, gave details of the reward scheme and noted that the scheme was in recognition of the support of customers; and sought to create several millionaires.

    He noted that “the Bank will also seek to continue to nurture winners and migrate them to other areas of banking products that will help them build their wealth, ensuring that the under banked and unbanked find the propositions of banking services more attractive and convenient”.

    Mr. Osakwe further stressed that: “The reward scheme will provide an opportunity for prospective customers of the bank to take the bold step of patronising our numerous cost-saving products and solutions, emphasising that “you can only save your way out of poverty.”

    On the mechanics of the scheme, Mr. Osakwe explained that customers, who make a deposit or reactivate their accounts with N10,000 (and its multiples), and maintain same for a period of 30 days, stand a chance of becoming millionaires every month.

    He added that consolation cash prizes include: N100,000 for 10 winners, N50,000 for 10 winners and N20,000 for 20 winners. Each month, more than 41 customers will be rewarded by the bank with the first 200 customers to reactivate their dormant accounts credited airtime worth of N500 within 48 hours and encouraged everyone to spread the good news.

    In his testimonial, Bashiru Adeyemi, an account holder with City Hall branch and one of the winners in season 1, said: “I am a pensioner resident in Lagos Island. When I heard the news that I won 1 million naira, I did not believe it. It was like a joke to me. I am grateful to Skye Bank. The money came in handy as I used it to complete my house project.”

  • Skye Bank rewards MoneyGram promo winners

    Skye Bank rewards MoneyGram promo winners

    Three lucky customers of Skye Bank Plc have emerged winners in the on-going Skye Bank – MoneyGram “Receive n Win Promo”.

    The winners, which include Oladele Ojo Femi, Babatunde Sodiq and Akinmusire Seyi, emerged winners in the first monthly raffle draw of the promo and won the sum of N100,000.00 each. A brand new car is up for grabs at the grand finale of the promo exercise scheduled for March this year.

    The promo is meant to encourage increased patronage of the services of the wire money transfer franchise; and is specifically targeted at customers who receive their transfers in Skye Bank.

    Speaking at the presentation of the cheque to winners of the promo, the Executive Director, Retail and Lagos Commercial Banking, Mrs. Markie Idowu, disclosed that winners are customers of the Bank who received transfers in Skye Bank within the month of December 2016.

    According to Mrs. Idowu, “The winners emerged by meeting the set criterion; they received at least one MoneyGram transfer from a Skye Bank branch within the last 30 days. The rewards will continue for the duration of the promotion with three lucky winners emerging monthly.

    Akinmusire Seyi, one of the recipients of the cash reward, was full of praise for Skye Bank and commended the bank for living up to its billing; while promising to spread the good news among family and friends.

    The winners are customers of Akungba branch (at Iwaro Oka Cash Center) in Ondo State; Shomolu and Ikorodu Branches, both in Lagos. The presentation was made at the Bank’s Head Office Annex: Adeola Hopewell Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The MoneyGram promo is still ongoing (across all its agent’s locations in Nigeria) until February 28, 2017; where more customers stand a chance to emerge as winners for receiving money in cash at any Skye Bank branch or transferred directly into the savings/current account domiciled in the Bank. The promotion is open to both account and non-account holders and runs from December 2016 to end of February 2017.

    MoneyGram is one the  largest provider of money transfers in the world with a network of over 350,000 agent locations across the globe in over 200 countries. Skye Bank is a key MoneyGram agent in Nigeria with the service available in over 350 branches across Nigeria.

  • Skye Bank gets award

    Skye Bank gets award

    Skye Bank PLC has emerged The Most Committed Watch Listing Bank in Nigeria at the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) Annual Dinner and Awards held in Lagos.

    This was confirmed in a survey by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in conjunction with Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBBS).

    The award, which is in recognition of efforts of the banking industry in the fight against electronic fraud or e-fraud was presented to the institution “with the most efficient and robust system for tracking all forms of electronic fraud and arresting perpetrators for prosecution”.

    Speaking on the occasion at Colonnades Ikoyi, Lagos, NeFF Chairman, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, also Director, Banking and Payment System at CBN, explained: “An effective fight against fraud is not without robust awareness programme, not only for members of the public, but also for staff of organisations that operate within the payment space.’’

    He further stressed the importance of starting the awareness programmethis year, “as this would help the industry reduce cost of fraud through increased vigilance and detection abilities”.

    He added: “The CBN in collaboration with NIBBS carried out a survey to rate the performance of all banks in the fight against e-fraud. Most banks, in their response, acknowledged Skye Bank as the most committed bank when it comes to tracking fraud and arresting perpetrators.”

  • Excited Skye Bank customers relieve experience

    Excited Skye Bank customers relieve experience

    Skye Bank customers have expressed delight at their experience as customers of the bank’s priority accounts named Skye Select Account.

    Okechukwu Okafor, a Lagos based business man who operates account expressed  appreciation to the bank. “I was travelling with some of my friends I didn’t know that being a holder of the priority pass card would give us a privileged advantage.

    “We were full of excitement because for starters, the card gave us access to the lovely lounge at Murtala Mohammad International airport where we were given priority treatment. I also had the opportunity to watch the live football match of my soccer team in comfort.”

    Another customer who simply identified herself as Christine also said: “At Amsterdam, we had an eight hour stopover before our next trip and the card gained us access to two of their executive lounges where we relaxed.

    “Imagine just waiting at the general waiting area/airport gate for eight hours with thousands of other travelers, the wait would have made our stop at Amsterdam uninteresting.”

    Speaking on the accounts, the Group Head of Retail, Mr. Ndubisi Osakwe said the Skye Select Account is an individual Current Account designed for the discerning priority client to deliver fast and convenient value added services.  The service includes a wide range of loans products in an exclusive package that matches one’s lifestyle.

    The account requires an opening and operating balance of N200,000 along with other product features.

  • Skye Bank may sell Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone subsidiaries

    Skye Bank Plc, which had its management replaced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and new Board of Directors appointed in July, is planning to sell its subsidiaries in Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The planned sell is to enable the lender ease pressure on capital buffers.

    The Systematically Important Bank (SIB) is seeking to dispose of majority stakes in its business in these countries, report by Bloomberg released yesterday said.

    The lender, the report said, is presently seeking to drop its international banking licenses so it no longer needs to have a Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 15 per cent and become a national bank that only needs a CAR ratio of 10 per cent.

    The wire service said Greenwich Trust Ltd. was hired as financial adviser on the deals in which bidders must submit expressions of interest by November 18.

    Skye Bank has declined 64 per cent this year, the biggest decline in the 171-member Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index after Forte Oil Plc. The CBN provided Skye with a loan shortly after ousting its management to ensure its operations didn’t suffer from a run on deposits, the regulator said at the time.

    The apex bank also issued guarantees to Skye Bank’s depositors and creditors as a demonstration of its sound health.

    In an earlier statement, the new management at Skye Bank said the lender’s fundamentals remained strong and virile, assuring customers and other stakeholders of the safety of their funds and investments.

    Its Group Managing Director/CEO, Tokunbo Abiru, said his team would leverage on the bank’s reputable information technology platform to make it not just a frontline retail and commercial bank, but also an industry leader.

    Abiru, who outlined his vision for the lender said his team would harness the expertise and skill sets of the bank’s employees and the reconstituted board to take the bank to new heights.

    He noted that as a SIB, Skye Bank occupies a sensitive role in the financial life of Nigerians and the entire West African sub-region.