The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, has said that the bank would retain its national licence while aiming for tier-1 banking status after the fresh banking sector recapitalisation.
This was disclosed by Oseni at the Annual General Meeting of the bank, held virtually on Tuesday, according to The Punch.
Oseni highlighted the bank’s progress towards realising the recapitalisation minimum target of N200bn, set by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He said, “The apex bank has done its due diligence and approved our N40bn rights issue, which is currently undergoing Securities and Exchange Commission approval to be listed on the Nigerian Exchange. Our capital base now stands not at the current N15bn but, with the rights issue, at N55bn—significant headway towards N200bn.
“Following the shareholder’s and board’s approval, we are set to raise the N200bn within the 24-month timeline through public placements and a public offer, which we are confident that we will achieve before the timeline expires. We have shared our plans with the CBN, and we will work assiduously to balance our capital base in the near future.
“At a minimum, Wema Bank will remain a national bank, we will keep working tenaciously to become a systematically important bank, reattain tier-1 status, and continue providing optimum value for every shareholder and stakeholder of Wema Bank.”
At the AGM, the shareholders approved a dividend of N0.50 per share for 2023, as well as the appointment of two new non-executive directors, Yewande Zaccheaus and Yusuf Kazaure, and the new Executive Director, Segun Opeke, as new members of the Board of Directors of Wema Bank.
Its gross earnings rose from N132.30bn to N225.75, indicating a 70.63 per cent increase.
In his remark, a shareholder, Mr Badmus Tunde, said, “Since 1945, Wema Bank has seen the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, and through thick and thin, it has gotten to where it is today. The results are overwhelming, and profitability has been maintained. Kudos to the board and management.”
Wema Bank, one of the oldest banks in Nigeria, recently celebrated its 79th anniversary.
