Thierry Tanoh’s first 10 months at the helm of Ecobank have been a baptism of fire. The Togo-based institution, which operates in 34 African countries, far more than any other bank, has recently been hit by a series of controversies.
Problems first surfaced in July, when it was revealed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had concerns over “huge outstanding non-performing facilities” owed by Kolapo Lawson, Ecobank’s chairman, to Amcon, a state-owned bad bank. The group was further rocked shortly afterwards by a letter sent by its suspended head of finance, Laurence do Rego, to the Nigerian regulators. She said she was pressurised to manipulate the bank’s 2012 results and to write off loans owed to Ecobank’s Nigerian subsidiary by a company Mr Lawson chairs.
