The Management of First City Monument Bank plans to raise N150 billion in capital between now and September 2024.
This was disclosed by the Chief Executive Officer of FCMB Group Plc, Ladi Balogun at the sidelines of the company’s Annual General Meeting in Lagos, according to Nairametrics.
Balogun said the company had come up with a variety of strategy to satisfy the new capital requirements by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He said, “Our plans during this period will be raising N150 billion through a series of structures. It’s not going to be one straight offer obviously and, that, we expect will be concluded by the end of September.
“We have a number of options, and we can achieve our objectives through any combination of the options we have. We are fortunate that as a group we have eight companies beyond just the bank. So, it’s just the bank that we have to capitalise on.
“We also have people speaking to us on potential merger and acquisition (M&A) partnership, but there is no conclusive plan at this stage. However, if there is an opportunity that is accretive to our shareholders from an earnings perspective, we will consider such things.”
In addition, Mr. Balogun Balogun explained the Bank’s plan to increase its non-interest income through the use of digital products and services, which will become fully operational in the next two years.
According to the bank’s CEO, the bank will support its customers and ensure its actions are in partnership with them.
The CBN announced a new banking recapitalisation exercise in March 2024 to support President Bola Tinubu’s government’s $1 trillion economic growth target.
According to the CBN, Tier-1 international banks are expected to have a minimum capital base of N500 billion- up from N25 billion set during the last exercise about 20 years ago. National banks are expected to have a minimum capital requirement of N200 billion while regional and merchant bank’s minimum capital base was set at N50 billion.
the CBN mandated banks to ensure that in meeting the new capital requirements, the retained earnings are not calculated. Instead new capital should be injected.
FCMB requires of N374.7 billion in capital to meet the apex bank’s new capital requirement to retain its international bank status.
