Business
Ecobank board asks CEO to step down after months of turmoil
Former Ecobank CEO Thierry Tanoh
The board of Ecobank removed its chief executive, Thierry Tanoh, on Tuesday following months of turmoil at one of the biggest financial institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. The crisis over corporate governance and leadership that led to Tanoh’s departure is seen as a test case for regulators and has put a spotlight on the integrity of financial institutions on a continent where economies are expanding rapidly.
Ecobank named Deputy CEO Albert Essien as its new chief executive. It also announced the reinstatement of finance director Laurence do Rego, which was a demand by Nigeria’s securities regulator, which is investigating alleged breaches of corporate governance.
“Ecobank Transnational Incorporated today announces the departure of Group CEO Mr Thierry Tanoh with effect from 12 March 2014. Effective the same date he will no longer be a director of ETI,” the bank’s holding company said in a statement. Tanoh could not immediately be reached for comment.
However, Tanoh’s supporters have said he was under pressure because of his drive to expose and correct abuses of corporate governance that pre-dated his tenure, which attracted powerful enemies nervous of what he might uncover. Essien, who is from Ghana, has been at Ecobank for more than 20 years and rose to deputy group CEO two years ago.
The 12-member board made its decision at a meeting in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, a senior bank official said. Tanoh did not attend. The Ivorian took the reins as CEO in January 2013, having previously served as a vice president at the International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank.
Ecobank is based in Togo and has a presence in 35 African countries. There are few other pan-African banks, and the continent’s biggest financial institutions are based in South Africa. Under Tanoh, profits grew 56 percent in the first nine months of last year, and his defenders said those results reflected his leadership qualities.
But his tenure was also marked by a row over his bonus and by an investigation launched last August by Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after do Rego told the regulator that Tanoh had pressured her to misstate 2012 financial results. Ecobank denied that allegation and said do Rego had previously been suspended in a dispute over her qualifications.
