The acquisition of Enterprise Bank by Heritage Bank has reached its final stage with the appointment of an acting Managing Director for newly acquired financial institution.
In a statement issued by Heritage Bank on Thursday, and made available to Aproko247, it was disclosed that Mrs Mary Akpobome has been appointed as the Acting Managing Director for Enterprise Bank until the bank is finally integrated into Heritage Bank.
Heritage Bank explained that the commencement of the final round of activities on its time-table for the integration of the acquired Enterprise Bank into the mainstream of its processes and operations is coming on the heel of the completion of all preliminary internal checks and audit of processes at Enterprise Bank which began shortly after the Board Divestment Closure ceremony organised by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in February 2015 to signal final disengagement of the corporation from Enterprise Bank.
Akpobome is saddled with the responsibility of managing the internal transition processes within Enterprise Bank as well as ensuring seamless integration of the bank into the Heritage Bank operating system and culture in a way that protects all stakeholder interests. The exercise which spans people, process, systems and value integration is estimated to a last a couple of months.
Mary Akpobome, a seasoned banker par excellence with over 20 years’ experience joined Heritage Bank in 2012 as the Executive Director, Ivory Banking. A woman with an eagle eye for growth opportunities, Mary was a key executive member in the acquisition of Enterprise Bank by Heritage Bank in 2014.
A well decorated banking veteran, Akpobome has in the past successfully undertaken similar tough but sound business decisions that revolutionized the banking business and generated substantial profits for shareholders from her days at Citizens Bank and Bank PHB.
Her years of experience spans different spheres of the banking space such as Commercial Banking, Private Banking, Customer Service, Information Technology, Banking Operations, etc.
Holder of an executive MBA from the University of Lagos, and a B.A (Hons.) in Theatre Arts degree from the University of Benin, Edo State, she has also attended several certified courses both locally and internationally.
Akpobome is the wife of veteran comedian, Alibaba, who she got married to many years ago.
She is an alumni of the ‘Insead’ Business School, IMD Switzerland, LBS Pan- Atlantic University and EMRC Brussels, Belgium. She is also a fellow of the Institute of Credit Administrators, Associate Member of Nigerian Institute of Management and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.
Speaking earlier this year at the AMCON Board Divestment Closure ceremony where the corporation fully handed over Enterprise Bank to the new owner, the Managing Director, Heritage Banking Company Ltd (Heritage Bank), Mr. Ifie Sekibo, had observed that the handing over gave Heritage Bank added impetus to roll out a more robust plan that would affirm its commitment to the promise of creating and preserving wealth across generations through highly personalized banking service.
“We promise to make the bank more successful. We will create more value and improve on what has been done at Enterprise Bank. One year from now, all stakeholders will see reasons to appreciate the sale of Enterprise Bank to Heritage Bank”, Sekibo said.
The Enterprise Bank acquisition, according to analysts and watchers of the nation’s banking sector, was a strong step to ensure that Heritage Bank, which entered the market in 2013 with a regional bank status, transforms into a strong national bank. The addition of Enterprise Bank’s over 160 branches, over 177 ATMs, 57 Cash Centres and 2000 POS Terminals spread across major markets and commercial centres in the country will increase Heritage Bank’s points of presence from the current 15 Experience Centers (Branches) to nearly 200 branches spread all over the country. This automatically transforms the bank from a tier-2 player to a strong tier-1 player.
