Akwa Savings & Loans Limited was incorporated in 1993 but began operations in 1995, licensed by the Central Bank as a mortgage bank. The euphemistic way to capture its almost quarter-of-a-century existence is that Akwa Savings & Loans has had a tumultuous rollercoaster ride. There were seasons it slumped into intensive care league. Then it died, or so we all thought!
The powers-that-be left it for dead. The people (staff and customers) too. Its vision, “to be a leading mortgage bank in Nigeria,” seemed all blurred. Its mission, “a commitment to the delivery of cutting-edge mortgage banking services to (all) clients and create value to all stakeholders,” was deemed to have failed.
What went wrong? The same things that go wrong every time a firm goes kaput. Poor management coupled with an even poorer clientele. Almost everyone connected to the bank proved helpless.
This month in 2021, then-Gov. Udom Emmanuel -himself an astute investment banker- felt he had had enough. He drafted in a new board complete with a new management and threw in a tranche of the much-needed funds plus an e-channel presence. From day one, the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Pastor Ime Okon, who has a knack for turning around banks, hit the sky flying. His four-point mantra (rescue, build, nurture, grow) has in three years not only seen the bank revitalised but also running profitably.
On his part, the current governor, Pastor Umo Eno, a prolific entrepreneur of three decades standing and counting, has declared and displayed a special interest in the bank. He’s all for engagements and roll-out plans to further recapitalise it to play a commanding role in the mortgage sub-sector. At fruitage, Akwa Savings & Loans in the age of Gov. Umo Eno shall seize all available opportunities and go on “to chill with the big boys” where it belongs. Soon, very soon, it shall have a new name, it shall be properly repositioned and it shall no more have branches only in Akwa Ibom but also in Abuja, Lagos and next-door Port Harcourt.
Meanwhile, the three-year-old board and management have so far restored customer confidence in the Akwa Savings brand. Customers whose funds were trapped during those better-forgotten years are smiling again a la structured things. Branches hitherto shut are back in business, looking everything as should be. The bank has returned to the hearts and lips of Akwa Ibom people such that even the state government has granted it approval to collect its taxes and sundry revenues.
Furthermore, the bank has secured Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria accreditation which means it has resumed drawdown of billions of Naira to support Akwa Ibom populace to own homes, affordably and easily. There’s now branch spread and integration into all online payment platforms which means collection of taxes, etc. for Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service on behalf of the state government has been simplified, on and offline. There’s more that the current board and management have achieved. One is the bank’s strong and efficient presence in the e-channels banking firmament.
Two is the sustained profitability of the bank since 2021 (with deposit mobilisation, balance sheet size, etc. on permanent steady increase). Three is staff welfare and consequently, harmony occasioned by prompt salaries and benefits, frequent promotions, no more labour conflict and the employment of a hundred new hands bringing the population (of the workforce) to 300. Four is the deliberate policy of business empowerment (disbursed three billion Naira to business owners and SMEs) as well as loans to thousands of Akwaibomights). Five is ongoing recovery of bad loans in an atmosphere of peace and understanding.
Of course, the result is that Akwa Savings & Loans has strengthened its relationship with regulators. It is safe to say that the bank is now respected by CBN, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation and even tax powerhouses like Federal Inland Revenue Service and AKIRS as it is never late with remittances. In fact, Akwa Savings & Loans has travelled so far away from its black sheep history that Interswitch, a leading financial services provider presented it an award of recognition in September last year. It is pure magic, the miracle of Akwa Savings & Loans Ltd.
Three Tuesdays ago, this mortgage bank owned wholly by Akwa Ibom state government held its first-ever MD/CEO’s Awards & Dinner Night. When I arrived Edinan Hotel, Uyo for and throughout the event, I saw staff who seemed high on motivation. It was and still is impossible to not readily see the monstrous job that MD/CEO, Pastor Ime Okon, has done in three years. He is so talismanic he is a sweetheart to the board, to the staff, and to the customers all at once.
Imagine a bank recently brought back from the dead literally waxing stronger than strong; as if nothing untoward ever happened. Imagine a bank honouring even a security man, a cleaner: just imagine what that does to staff morale. Imagine Akwa Savings & Loans being so turned around that the state government and the people find it their number one go-to financial partner. These must be some of the reasons three board members present at the event (Finance Commissioner Nsikan Linus Nkan, PhD, Akicorp Chairman, Pastor ImoAbasi Jacobs Snr and AKIRS Boss, Sir Okon Okon) could not hold back encomia.
Even the staff, customers and other awardees and guests plus Yours Sincerely who spoke at the event could not hide how much we appreciate the five-star work at Akwa Savings & Loans Ltd. MD/CEO Ime Okon is the man. Uruan people are like that, though: we always overperform. However, while it is good to see the upgrade in the services of the bank and indeed in the quality of its personnel, it remains for our people to rally round it.
What’s more?: the bank has a bright future. Board and management insist that in the next two to five years, the bank shall recapitalise to qualify for a national mortgage banking licence. As already pointed out, that shall see new branches spring up in the Federal Capital Territory, in the federal commercial capital and in oil-rich Rivers which means, plus and minus, about a thousand jobs loom. Also, within the short-term window, the bank hopes to raise its resource bar to be able to handle governmental big ticket businesses and transactions in addition to developing affordable housing estates wherever it seeks.
Clearly, Akwa Savings & Loans is coming. Our prayer is that even when it transforms into Ibom Mortgage Bank, these sweet tales never cease. With Ibom Air thriving on the ground and in the skies, and Akwa Savings & Loans replicating that winning spirit in the mortgage banking subsector, Akwa Ibom stands to be honoured by all and sundry for breaking the jinx that government cannot and should not engage in profit-hunting business. Those who doubt that government can run business successfully should come to Uyo to see and learn the tricks.
God bless Nigeria!