By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About N40 billion has been sourced by Wema Bank Plc from capital market investors in the first tranche of its capital raise programme.
This is part of the company’s efforts to meet the new minimum capital requirements of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced in March 2024.
The central bank gave financial institutions two years to raise their capital base if they intend to remain in business.
Wema Bank, which has a national licence, is expected to have at least N200 billion as a capital base to offer banking services to customers across the country.
Recall that at its recently-concluded Annual General Meeting (AGM), the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, assured shareholders that the lender would retain its national banking licence at the end of the recapitalisation programme in March 2026.
In a statement obtained by Business Post, the tier-2 bank said it raised N40 billion from a rights issue from its shareholders in the first tranche of the capital raise scheme, and it intends to get an additional N150 billion in the next 12 or 18 months.
The financial institution disclosed that the N40 billion rights issue, which was initiated in December 2023, was fully subscribed because of the confidence investors have in the firm.
“We are delighted to announce the conclusion of the 1st tranche of our Capital Raise Programme, after obtaining the relevant approvals of all regulatory authorities.
“Our move to commence our capital raise programme very early demonstrates our push for excellence and with a strong emphasis on our digital play, we are set to amass more successes in the coming months,” Mr Oseni was quoted as saying in the statement.
“We were impressed by the vote of confidence given by our shareholders during the first rights issue exercise as our shares were fully subscribed.
“In addition, we obtained the approval of shareholders at our 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) to raise an additional N150 billion to meet the capitalisation threshold set by the CBN.
“The process is expected to be completed within 12-18 months.
“We are committed to providing optimum returns for every stakeholder and the successful conclusion of this N40 billion rights issue is a bold step in the right direction,” he added.
Dipo Olowookere