Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has strengthened the capital base of its banking subsidiary, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited (GTBank), with a fresh equity injection of N365.85 billion through a rights issue.
According to a statement on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, the additional funding was raised under its two-phased equity capital programme approved by shareholders at its 2024 Annual General Meeting and implemented in line with approvals obtained from regulators.
As part of the transaction, it issued and allotted 6,994,050,290 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each made by the bank to the company.
“The company continues to hold 100 per cent of the entire issued and paid-up share capital of the bank. None of the directors of the company have any interest, direct or indirect, in the bank,” the statement said.
With this capital injection, GTBank’s share capital has risen from N138.19 billion to N504.04 billion, positioning the lender in compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new minimum capital requirement for banks with international authorisation.
Business Post reports that banks across various spreads have less around seven months to meet to the deadline set by the apex bank in late 2023.
According to the group, the fresh equity will be channelled into branch network expansion, growth of its loan and investment securities portfolio, and upgrades to its information technology infrastructure.
“The additional equity capital will be deployed by GTBank primarily for branch network expansion and asset growth (loans/advances and investment securities portfolio), fortification of its information technology infrastructure and to leverage emerging opportunities in Nigeria and the operating environments where it maintains banking presence,” the company said.
“The bank also plans to leverage the strengthened balance sheet to tap into emerging opportunities across Nigeria and the operating environments where it maintains banking presence,” the statement added.