GTB, Access and Zenith Bank Takes Over Etisalat Nigeria

Telecoms firm Etisalat Nigeria has been taken over by a consortium banks which are Guaranty Trust Bank , Access Bank and Zenith Bank .

This follows the inability of Etisalat Nigeria to repay a loan of $ 1 . 72 bn (about N 541 .8 bn ) it obtained from the banks in 2015, Proshare says.

A former GTB executive director who is familiar with the issue, said the action became necessary since the Nigerian Communications Commission could not broker a peaceful resolution between Etisalat Nigeria and the banks.


He said the loan involved a foreign-backed guaranty bond and was given to Etisalat to finance a major network rehabilitation and expansion of its operational base in Nigeria .

He explained “ the banks reported the company to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the NCC, ” after it failed to repay the loan in 2016.

He said Etisalat was given the option of filing for bankruptcy but the telecoms firm refused to take the advice . This option, he said , would have required the banks just a management to oversee the telecoms firm’ s operations .

“ While all these were happening, the management at Guaranty Trust Bank and the other banks concerned had thought that the Nigerian Communications Commission would have used its powers as a regulator to bail the telco out, or advise them accordinly , but it became obvious that the NCC wasn’ t so interested. It was merely buying time for Etisalat.”