The management of Polaris Bank Limited, on Friday, denounced an online media report of plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to divest its stake, four years after the takeover of the then Skye Bank Plc via a bridge bank process.

While urging the banking public to disregard the publication, describing it as “speculative, (and) deliberately intended to create panic,” the statement assured that Polaris Bank has since the intervention stabilized its operations, besides “improving its balance sheet, customer base, and profitability.”

The management restated the intention of the owners to eventually return the bank to private ownership, adding that such a divestment “would occur following regulatory approvals with formal notification to all relevant stakeholders.”

Polaris Bank, the statement further assured, “is committed to ensuring timely communication to the public in such an event.

“The board and management hereby reassure its customers, staff and the general public that Polaris Bank remains a stable, strong and credible financial institution, positioned to deliver sustainable value to all its stakeholders,” it stressed further.