Polaris Bank is a large financial services provider in West Africa and Central Africa. With headquarters in Nigeria, the bank maintains subsidiaries in Sierra Leone, the Gambia, the Republic of Guinea, Liberia, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. As of September 2010, the bank's total assets were valued in excess of US$3.9 billion (NGN:611.5 billion), with shareholders' equity of approximately US$630 million (NGN:98.4 billion).The bank traces its origins back to 1989 when Prudent Bank Plc., was incorporated as a limited liability company. In 1990, the bank was issued a license as merchant bank. That same year, it re-branded as Prudent Merchant Bank Limited. In 2006, Prudent Merchant Bank Limited merged with four other banks to form Skye Bank Plc.: Bond Bank Limited EIB International Bank Plc. Reliance Bank Limited Co-operative Bank Plc. In January 2011, the bank introduced a Naira-denominated MasterCard debit card, called "MasterCard Verve", the first of its kind in Nigeria. The bank