Ebitimi Banigo is a Nigerian banker who was chief executive of International Merchant Bank of Nigeria from 1981 to 1986. Between 1999 and 2000, he was Minister of Science and Technology in Nigeria. Banigo briefly worked for the accounting firm of Peat Marwick, Cassleton Elliott & Company before traveling abroad to earn an undergraduate degree in economics from

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

and later earned an MBA from Harvard University. Between 1976 and 1978, he worked with

Citicorp Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...

in New York working on international

loan syndication A syndicated loan is one that is provided by a group of lenders and is structured, arranged, and administered by one or several commercial banks or investment banks known as lead arrangers. The syndicated loan market is the dominant way for larg ...

and services, in 1979, he moved across the Atlantic and joined Chase Merchant Bank working from its London office. Chase has an affiliate in Nigeria that later became Continental Merchant Bank, Banigo was transferred to the Nigerian affiliate in 1980. Upon his return to Nigeria, he briefly worked with the local branch of Chase Merchant Bank as the corporate finance manager. In 1980, he left Chase to become deputy managing director of International Merchant Bank and in 1981, he became the banks's MD. Banigo was at the helm of IMB for five years. In 1988, Banigo and a group of investors started Allstates Trust Bank. In the 2000s, the bank's license was suspended and Banigo was detained by the

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud (419 fraud) and money laundering. The EFCC was established in 2003, partially in response to pre ...

on the recommendation of the

Central Bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

which audited the bank's financial records and alleged Banigo and his associated companies were extended loan facilities amounting to more than 35% of shareholder equity, a violation of the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) of 1991. In 2012, he became the Amanyanabo of Okpoama Kingdom, a traditional title making him King of Okpoama kingdom of

Brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

Local Government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banigo, Ebitimi Nigerian bankers University at Buffalo alumni Harvard Business School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Nigerian chief executives