Access Bank to raise N68bn from share sale Access Bank Plc is seeking to raise N68bn to fund operations and bolster cash reserves. A spokeswoman for the bank, Busola Osilaja, said shareholders would vote on October 13 on the proposal to sell shares to existing investors, Bloomberg reported. The Nigerian Stock Exchange has suspended the stock until January 27 to “preserve shareholders’ value” before the sale, the bourse said in a statement. Banks are preparing to sell equity and debt after the Central Bank of Nigeria last month changed the way lenders calculate capital buffers. The CBN is seeking to increase banks’ ability to withstand losses five years after the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria bought bad debt from banks including Access Bank to save the industry from collapse. The regulator removed some assets lenders can count as capital in preparation for the implementation of Basel II and III, while limiting Tier 2 capital to 33 per cent of higher-quality Tier 1 capital, according to an August 5 circular. Access Bank, which has a unit in the United Kingdom as well as in seven African countries, has yet to set a date for the sale. Shareholders include local and international institutional investors, according to its website. An analyst at Sterling Capital Markets Limited, Mr. Sewa Wusu, said, “Access Bank needs to boost its common stock to be able to fund operations in the face of the central bank capital adequacy rules.” “Given the growth potential of the bank, shareholders will be eager to take up their rights to enable them to consolidate their holdings or check dilution of their investments.” The Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, had in April said the lender had received shareholders’ approval to raise $1bn, including through debt and equity to fund lending targeted to rise to 20 per cent this year. The bank’s shares were unchanged at N9.59 at Monday’s close in Lagos, paring this year’s decline to 0.1 per cent. The NSE All-Share Index has retreated 1.36 per cent over that period. ift.tt/Xym5IP ift.tt/VdPtTv [[Boost your social presence with NAIRALIKES nairalikes ]] #nigeria x #nairalikes #vanguardng
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 23:19:34 +0000
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