By Dipo Olowookere and Adedapo Adesanya
Fidelity Bank Plc has announced its intention to approach the international capital market again for a fresh Eurobond worth $500 million.
A notice to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited signed by the company secretary, Ezinwa Unuigboje, disclosed that the unsecured and unsubordinated notes would carry a maturity of five years and would rank parri passu with all other previous papers sold by the lender.
In the disclosure, Fidelity Bank said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given its approval for the transaction to go ahead as it “has no objection” to it.
The lender said it was requesting the fresh capital “for general corporate purposes, including supporting its trade finance business” and that after issuing the Eurobond, it would be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange to allow it to be traded on “its regulated market.”
Already, Fidelity Bank commenced the planned investor meetings concerning the notes on Monday, October 18, 2021, though the final decision to issue the papers is “subject to finalising the necessary transaction documentation and prevailing market conditions.”
Business Post reports that this development is coming after the Nigerian government raised $4 billion from the debt market last month. Also, another lender in the country, Access Bank Plc, which is listed on the nation’s stock exchange like Fidelity Bank, raised $500 million from the same market at 6.13 per cent. This sale was oversubscribed by investors because of the strong confidence they have in the bank.
Recall that in 2017, about this month, Fidelity Bank, a tier-two financial institution, issued $500 million Eurobond to investors.
Stocks of the company closed flat at the bourse on Monday at N2.74 each. The bank, since the assumption of office of Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe as the Chief Executive some months ago, has witnessed a rising profile in the Nigerian banking industry.
One of her ambitions is to ensure that the lender attains a tier-one status by 2025. At the moment, only five of the over 20 banks in the country are in the category and they are Zenith Bank, Access Bank, GTCO, UBA and First Bank, altogether known as ZAGUF banks.
Adedapo Adesanya