By Dipo Olowookere
Acting chief executive of Wema Bank Plc has disclosed that the financial institution plans to approach the bond market to raise about N20 billion.
Mr Ademola Adebise, who was recently announced as the acting CEO of Wema Bank, following the retirement of Mr Segun Oloketuyi, disclosed at an analysts’ call on Thursday that his company would need the funds to boost its capital adequacy.
According to Reuters, the lender would issue the N20 bond next month and the bank would expect investors to fully embrace the exercise.
If succeeded, the debt raise would be the second tranche of a N50 billion bond programme of the financial institution.
The bank said it has appointed parties for the offer and aims to boost its capital ratio to 15 percent before the end of 2018 from 14.3 percent.
The regulatory minimum capital ratio for Wema Bank and its peers is 10 percent.
“We need to enhance our funding. The bank is in the process of raising Tier II and the offer will be opened in August,” Mr Adebise was quoted as saying at the analysts’ call yesterday.
Business Post reports that in the first tranche of the N50 billion debt programme, the mid-tier bank raised about N6.2 billion from the exercise.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Aduragbemi Omiyale