Banking without bankruptcy is like Christianity without
hell. This incontestable truth becomes clearer to Segun Agbaje, MD/CEO Guaranty
Trust Bank (GTBank), by the minute. The GTBank MD has finally burned through
his euphoric spells of fantasy to chance on cold, brutal reality; GTBank is in
trouble.
The bank severally touted to be doing very well is actually
in dire straits. Consequently, this has put the bank MD in a bind; for the
first time in his life, Agbaje has seen through the grand illusions driving his
bank to bankruptcy - he has finally gotten to understand that bankruptcy is a
sacred state, a condition beyond conditions, as theologians might say, and
attempts to investigate it are necessarily cumbersome and tiring, like
spiritualism.
GTBank currently groans under the weight of huge debts
portfolio by its A-list customers. The bank's debtors, comprising Nigeria's
superrich, have failed to refund loans taken from the bank to the extent that
some of the loans have to be written off as bad debt. Consequently, Agbaje, the
erstwhile sinewy and athletically-built MD is losing sleep over the huge debts.
He has lost so much weight in the last couple of months, his eyes are sunken
and his cheeks have lost their rosy glow. Although many of his business
associates and subordinates initially passed his weight loss off as a
deliberate effort by the MD to keep fit, now they know better.
Agbaje is troubled by the huge debt portfolio racked up his
bank's A-list customers. Some of the debts however, may never be repaid again,
for instance, among the bank’s biggest debtors was the late Ibadan-based
billionaire businessman, Alao Arisekola . He is reportedly indebted to the
bank. There are other debtors too and
Agbaje is no longer comfortable with their persistent inability and
recalcitrance to repay loans taken from the bank. The GTBank MD is severely
troubled particularly at this period when the bank's shareholders have resolved
to turn the heat on him. Interestingly, when he celebrated his birthday in
London last year, he could not but treat some of his bank's debtors like
royalty. Agbaje and his beautiful wife, Derin, treated them (that is, GTBank
debtors) to a great time along with the other guests.
The issue of huge
debt portfolio and cumbersome debt recovery process had always bedeviled GTBank
like an albatross even during the tenure of the bank's former MD, late Tayo
Aderinokun, but the situation has severely worsened over the years and
according to sources within the bank, Agbaje never understood the extent of the
rot until he assumed position as MD of the bank. As the bank's huge debt
portfolio threatens to sink bank, Agbaje is poised never to go down without a
fight.
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