Ladi Balogun, MD, FCMB

First City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB) Tuesday said it would complete its business combination arrangement with former FinBank which it acquired last year before the end of this quarter.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, FCMB, Mr. Ladi Balogun, said this during an investors' telephone conference on the bank's second quarter 2012 results, which was released on Monday. The FCMB boss also said that the bank had an approval in principle from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the deal.

The commercial bank had in a letter to its customers, assured that relevant regulatory, judicial and shareholder approvals had been granted and FinBank, together with its subsidiaries, had become subsidiary of FCMB, saying that it would finalise full operational and legal integration of the former rescued bank with FCMB by June 2012.

But Balogun explained: "We took full control of Finbank on February 9, and a complete integration is on the way, it will happen by the end of the third quarter. We have received approval in principle for the acquisition from the Securities and Exchange Commission, and we are looking at getting a date to arrange a court-ordered meeting of shareholders in the next few days," he said.

Balogun said he expected the former rescued bank to contribute more than 10 per cent to FCMB’s profits this year after the merger.

FCMB had in the said letter, explained that among others, the deal would benefit its customers in terms of greater convenience due to an expansion in its branch network.

"We are committed to ensuring that there is no disruption to services during this integration period. We will also maintain timely and regular communication with you to ensure you understand any changes that may occur and how the integration will affect you.

The vision for our merger is inspired by our belief in the growth prospects of the Nigerian economy and our belief in our customers," the bank had said.