Wema Bank announces Rights Issue of 14.28 billion ordinary shares, to raise N150 billion

This initiative is set to commence on April 14, 2025, as detailed in a disclosure signed by the Company Secretary, Johnson Lebile, and published on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on April 10, 2025.

The disclosure highlights that the Rights Issue, which is the second tranche of the bank’s capital-raising efforts, serves as a crucial exercise conducted following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive for recapitalization.

As stated by the company, the Rights Issue involves 14,286,785,417 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, offered on the basis of two (2) new ordinary shares for every three (3) existing ordinary shares held. The shares will be issued at N10.45 per share, representing a discount to the market price of N10.95 as of the close of trading on April 10, 2025, and the year’s average price of N10.98.

Wema Bank urged all registered shareholders to take advantage of this significant opportunity, emphasizing: “We hereby urge all our esteemed shareholders whose names are in the Register of Members as of March 5, 2025, to exercise their rights in full and seize this pivotal moment in our Bank’s growth.”  

Following the Rights Issue, the Board will enhance the Bank’s position to boost lending to SMEs and improve IT infrastructure, with a focus on strengthening the ALAT digital platform to better serve the tech-savvy youth in Nigeria.

According to the disclosure, shareholders can participate in the Rights Issue through the NGX Invest Platform. It also mentioned that detailed instructions for acceptance and payment will be included in the provisional allotment letter from the Company Secretary found in the Rights Circular.

In January 2025, Wema Bank announced plans to conclude its capital raise through a combination of a Rights Issue and a Special Placement exercise set for April 1, 2025, to raise N200 billion in fresh capital.

This would constitute the second and final tranche of the Bank’s capital raising efforts, following the N40 billion raised in the first tranche, necessary for meeting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) minimum capital requirements for national banking.

The forthcoming second tranche, scheduled for April 14, 2025, aims to raise an additional N150 billion, which is needed to address the remainder of the CBN’s capitalization requirement.

Wema Bank Plc released its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, reporting a pre-tax profit of N102.5 billion.

The group’s interest income surged to N354.6 billion, up from N185.6 billion the prior year.

Although interest expenses increased by 89.06% year-over-year to N177.5 billion, the group’s net interest income climbed to N177.06 billion, reflecting an impressive growth of 93.05% from N91.7 billion.