FBN Holdings Extends N149.58bn Rights Issue – Independent Newspaper Nigeria

FBN Holdings (FBN) Plc has extended the dead­line for its N149.575 bil­lion capital raise.

The Holding Company in a statement to the investing public notified that: “FBN Holdings has obtained the ap­proval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to extend the period of the rights issue by 18 days.

Consequently, trading in the Company’s Rights will now close on December 30 2024.”

FBNH is undergoing a rights issue for 5.983 billion or­dinary shares priced at N25.00 each, on the basis of one new ordinary share for every exist­ing six ordinary shares held as at the close of business on October 18, 2024, opened on No­vember 4, 2024 and supposed to close on December 12, 2024.

The Company earlier said the proceeds of its recent N150 billion rights issue will be used to increase the tier 1 capital of its banking subsidiary, First Bank, as it grows its digital banking operations, and in­ternational activities.

Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, the Group managing director of FBN Holdings, said the financial services group was proactive and commenced the capital plan in 2023 before the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation plan was un­veiled.

“Our core values are expressed in the acronym E.P.I.C., which encompasses being entrepreneurial, pro­fessional, innovative and cus­tomer-centric. We would prior­itise driving growth through expansion, integration, inno­vation and sustainability,” he added.

“We seek to raise 150 bil­lion via a rights issue. This plan had commenced in 2023 before the recapitalisation ex­ercise because we knew our numbers and the firepower we needed. While we were at it, the Central Bank of Nigeria came in with the new capital requirement of N500 billion, which showed that we are ahead of the curve.”

As of September 30, 2024, the Corporation’s financial highlights include total assets of N27.49 trillion, N12.72 tril­lion in loans and advances, N21.22 trillion in customer de­posits, N2.60 trillion in share­holders’ funds.

FBNH achieved N2.25 tril­lion in gross earnings with a return on equity (ROE) of 20.27 percent.

FBN Holdings Plc is a fi­nancial holding company and one of the largest financial ser­vices organisations in Africa.

It is a diversified and lead­ing financial services Group offering a broad range of prod­ucts and services through its subsidiaries, across commer­cial banking, merchant bank­ing, capital markets, trustee­ship and insurance brokerage to millions of customers.