By Dipo Olowookere
After over two decades at Agusto & Co, Nigeria’s foremost credit rating agency, Ms Vivien Shobo, has retired as the Chief Executive Officer of the organisation.
While she piloted affairs of Agusto, Ms Shobo facilitated landmark multibillion transactions including the largest Municipal Bond programme and single largest tranche issuance, the Lagos State government’s N500 billion bond programme and N87.5 billion bond issuance.
She ensured that the company strengthened its formidable market position in Nigeria and Africa by obtaining Credit Rating Agency licenses from the capital market authorities of Kenya and Rwanda.
Under her leadership, Agusto successfully rated most of Nigeria’s leading banks and pioneered domestic credit ratings for notable corporates such as Dangote Cement Plc, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Julius Berger amongst others.
She further helped the firm facilitate the first bond issued by a deposit money bank in Nigeria in 2006, which is the Access Bank N13.5 billion redeemable bond.
During her tenure, the organisation helped in the first bond issued by an insurance company in 2008, the Crusader Nigeria Plc N4 billion Unsecured Convertible Debenture; the first 15-year corporate green bond fully guaranteed by infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Limited (Infracredit), NSP-SPV PowerCorp Plc’s N8.5 billion 15-year 15.60 percent Series 1 Guaranteed Fixed Rate Senior Green Infrastructure Bond Due 2034; and the first commercial paper issuance under the new guidelines of FMDQ, UPDC’s N24 billion commercial paper programme.
In addition, she assisted in the first hospitality corporate bond issuance in the Nigerian debt capital market, Transcorp Hotels Plc’s N19.7 billion Series I & II bonds Due 2020; the first FinTech corporate bond (callable) issuance in the Nigerian debt capital market, Interswitch Africa One Plc’s N23 billion 7-Year 15 percent Fixed Rate Series 1 Senior Unsecured Callable Bonds Due 2026; the first logistics corporate bond issuance in the Nigerian debt capital market, TAK Agro Plc’s N15 billion 16.49 percent 7-year Fixed Rate Senior Bond Due 2026; and the World Bank credit rating assessment for City of Kigali and the 30 districts in Rwanda in 2015.
A statement issued by Agusto said following the retirement of Ms Shobo, it has appointed Ms Yinka Adelekan, an Executive Director in the company, as its new CEO.
The new CEO is an astute finance executive with over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, and her expertise spans credit ratings, corporate banking, risk management, product development, financial analysis, and information management.
Agusto & Co is a pioneer in the Nigerian Credit Ratings Industry and commenced business in January 1999. In 2001, Agusto & Co became the first credit rating agency to be licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
