The state-owned Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has moved ahead with the privatisation of Enterprise Bank, one of the three banks that the state nationalised in August 2011, appointing financial and legal advisers for the sale, ThisDay reported.

AMCON has named Citigroup Global Markets, the European arm of US-based financial services group Citigroup, and Nigeria-based pan-African investment banking and financial services firm Vetiva Capital Management as financial advisers on the transaction and G. Elias & Company as the legal adviser.

AMCON has previously said that Enterprise Bank will be the first of the three banks slated for privatisation.

Nigeria first intervened in the three banks - Afribank, Spring Bank and Bank PHB - as part of a USD 4bn bank bailout, but later nationalised them as they failed to find new investors before a recapitalisation deadline.

Enterprise Bank took over the assets and liabilities of the defunct Spring Bank, Afribank was transformed into Mainstreet Bank and Bank PHB into Keystone Bank. Keystone Bank and Mainstreet Bank will be sold later, one by one, with the whole sales process expected to be completed by Q3 2014.

AMCON’s managing director, Mustafa Chike-Obi, has previously said that more than 20 bidders have indicated interest in the purchase of Enterprise Bank.

Enterprise Bank posted a pre-tax profit of NGN 11.3bn (EUR 53.3mn) for 2012, reversing a NGN 5.2bn loss for the last five months of 2011. Its gross earnings increased to NGN 40.4bn last year from NGN 10.5bn for the five months in 2011. Total assets grew 32% y/y to NGN 261.1bn. Client deposits rose 28% y/y to NGN 208.4bn.