By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The management of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc’s (GTCO Plc) was on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, honoured with a closing gong ceremony at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The beat of the gong on the stock exchange signifies the closing of the day’s trading activities. This is done by respected persons and organisations in society.
GTCO was privileged to beat the gong yesterday to mark the listing of its shares on the main floor of the exchange after the completion of all regulatory requirements for its corporate reorganisation into a holding company structure and the listing of GTCO Plc on the NGX and the London Stock Exchange, replacing Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.
Guaranty Trust was first listed on the Nigerian Exchange in 1997, winning the “Nigerian Stock Exchange President’s Merit Award” within months of its listing.
In 2007, it became the first Nigerian bank to list on London Stock Exchange, the first to dual list on international exchange and the first Nigerian company to raise international capital using listed Global Depositary Receipts.
Since then, Guaranty Trust has embarked on a decade of unparalleled growth with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at N4.993 trillion and N837.2 billion respectively, at the end of Q1, 2021.
As part of its long-term growth strategy, Guaranty Trust has now adopted a holding company structure wherein GTCO Plc will operate as the parent company of all Guaranty Trust banking businesses across Africa and the United Kingdom as well as other non-banking businesses which will be established following the transition.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust, Mr Segun Agbaje, said, “These are very exciting times for us. Following our transition, we can now compete more effectively with non-banks in this new and evolving competitive landscape, whilst creating more value for customers and shareholders than we ever could as a bank.”
“Although we are delighted to have completed this rigorous transition process, we know that the hard work has just begun. We are in the final phase of building a new payments business that will deepen and extend digital financial services across Africa.
“We also believe that we are in a better position to drive an Asset Management business and a Pension Fund business, given our strong retail base and digital-first approach to financial services, which we have honed over the past decade,” he added.
Founded in 1990, Guaranty Trust has maintained an unbroken streak of year-on-year growth and a consistent lead in driving the digitization of financial services in Africa.
It is the best managed financial institution in Nigeria, leading the industry across key financial indices, such as Return on Equity (ROAE of 26.0 per cent in Q1 2021), Return on Assets (ROAA of 4.3 per cent in Q1 2021), and Cost to Income ratio (42.6 per cent in Q1 2021).
