The suspension of the chairman, managing director and two other directors of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria for filing misleading financial statements has taken a toll on the group’s shares and market capitalisation.
A review of market statistics made available by the Nigerian Stock Exchange showed that between Monday when the FRC made its decision public and the close of trading on Tuesday, Stanbic IBTC’s market capitalisation had fallen from N230bn to N207.6bn.
On Monday, the group’s share price fell by five per cent or N1.15 from N23 to N21.85 before shedding an additional 4.99 per cent or N1.09 to close at N20.76 on Tuesday.
The FRC had on Monday directed Stanbic IBTC Holdings to withdraw and restate what it described as “misleading financial statements” for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014.
It also suspended the group’s Chairman, Mr. Atedo Peterside; Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Sola David-Borha; two other directors, Mr. Arthur Oginga and Dr. Daru Owei; and Ayodele Othihiwa of KPMG Professional Services, the group’s auditors.
All five persons were suspended for attesting to the “misleading” financial position of Stanbic IBTC Holdings for the two years.
The council had in August opened an investigation into Stanbic IBTC in response to a petition written by shareholders of the bank, drawing the attention of the regulatory authorities to some unapproved transactions allegedly conducted by the bank with its foreign technical partners.
In the course of its investigation, the FRC said it found out that Stanbic IBTC had violated provisions of the International Financial Reporting Standards in its financial statements.
It added that it found technical issues in the financial reports of the group as well as problems with statutory audit and auditor independence, ] presentation of information with regards to current and deferred tax liabilities, and instances where information was concealed.
