Cititrust Holdings Plc: Celebrating a quantum leap

BY REMI LADIGBOLU

When a leading pan-African financial and investment conglomerate, Cititrust Holdings Plc, announced its decision to go public recently by listing on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) at the end of the third quarter, it did not come as a surprise to financial industry watchers.

From its modest beginning in Nigeria in 2007, Cititrust has taken giant strides, expanding its business tentacles across Africa while creating superior value for its stakeholders.

Today, Cititrust bestrides the African financial and investment landscape like a colossus, with a well-established and sometimes pioneering presence in 12 countries across the continent.

The announcement by Cititrust Holdings Plc made it imperative to help potential investors and other members of the investing public make an informed investment decision by providing them with accurate, relevant, and useful information about the company.

Over the past four years, seasoned financial expert, Yemi Adefisan, as the group chief executive of Cititrust Holdings Plc, has successfully grown the group to become one of Africa’s leading financial and investment services companies with diverse business portfolios and a current balance sheet of over N44 billion with 358 employees and over 1,000 indirect employees.

The company has carried out 12 successful acquisitions across Nigeria, Ghana, Benin Republic, and Rwanda and has invested a total of N11.4 billion in its subsidiaries as capitalisation.

Another noteworthy decision recently taken by the company was the divestment of its 100% stake in Cititrust Financial Services Plc (CFS) Nigeria, as part of the strategic refocusing of its business models and priorities.

For any discerning member of the public with the intention of investing in shares of Cititrust, it might be worthwhile to take a close look at the success stories of some of the company’s subsidiaries – starting with LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc – and their recent milestones in the pan-African financial and investment sector.

LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc was a moribund state government-owned financial institution that was acquired by Cititrust Holdings in May 2020. Since the takeover by Cititrust, the bank originally known as Omoluabi Mortgage Bank Plc has witnessed exponential growth in profit, which surged by 347% to stand at N676.6 million at the end of 2021 and projected to hit a billion-naira mark by the end of the current financial year.

Similarly, the bank’s revenue grew by 149% to N1.6 billion for the full year 2021. This strong earnings performance lifted the bank to the top of the list of stocks to watch on the Nigerian Exchange this year.

The bank’s total assets also grew by 80.2% to N11.35 billion in the unaudited full year ended December 31, 2021, from N6.3 billion reported in 2020. It also capped the year 2021 with the highly coveted award of Africa mortgage bank of the year.

In Botswana, South Atlantic Asset Management Limited, Botswana, received regulatory approval to operate as a securities institution. The license was issued to the company on January 19, 2022, in line with the country’s Securities Act no. 26 of 2014 Section 4 (1), following which it commenced full operations.

Likewise, Ugandan-based South Atlantic Limited successfully acquired a lending license from the country’s regulatory authorities on December 4, 2021, and commenced operations on January 4, 2022. Since then, the company has disbursed over UGX95,000,000 as loans to entrepreneurs in Uganda.

In Liberia, Cititrust Savings and Loans Limited commenced operations on May 4, 2021. It subsequently obtained a final operational license from the country’s regulatory authorities on July 11, 2021. As of January 31, 2022, the bank had acquired no fewer than 3,000 customers and grew its deposit base to $3.2 million. The bank’s risk assets position stood at $2.9 million, while its balance sheet position grew to $4.13 million.

The bank has also commenced seamless cheque clearing process in partnership with GTB Liberia and has obtained final approval from Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) to offer remittance services through a partnership with BNB (an international technology and licensed remittance company). In addition, the bank has successfully introduced port clearing and product papers (Cititrustsusu) in the country.

Pan African Finance, Rwanda, started operations on July 4, 2021. The company successfully obtained an investment banking license on October 11, 2021 and obtained the first merchant banking license with the combination of both investment banking license from the Capital Market Authority and a finance license from the Central Bank of Rwanda. The bank has since been embraced by government agencies and private institutions in Rwanda.

Cititrust Capital Management Pty South Africa has secured conditional approval of its National Credit Regulator (NCR) License and the final approval of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) for its Health Insurance license, as well as FCA Category 2 license.

Justifying its decision to transition into a publicly quoted company in a recent statement by the group executive director, Afolabi Martins, Cititrust Holdings noted that the move was “part of ongoing efforts to realign its operational model with the strategic visions of shareholders and the long-term sustainability of the businesses. Our mission is to consistently deliver superior performance and excellent results, while reassuring its stakeholders of seamless customer service, best-in-class governance that follows all rules, policies, and procedures”.

Cititrust has also been very active in its corporate social responsibility. It has undertaken crucial interventions in support of its host communities and the society at large that are too numerous to mention.

While consolidating its position as one of Nigeria’s foremost financial services companies, Cititrust and its subsidiaries across Africa have received numerous awards and commendations for their best-in-class performances across several areas of the financial and investment services sub-sector of the economy.

Last year, the company won three awards from the Global Banking & Finance Awards, including Best Financial Services Group in Nigeria 2021, Decade of Excellence Holding Group in Nigeria 2021, and Most Innovative Holding Group in Nigeria 2021.

The company also carted the highly coveted African Financial Brand of the Year award at the prestigious BusinessDay’s Bank and other Financial Institutions Awards (BAFI), in recognition of its “consistent effort as a resolute African brand expanding on the continent with business offices operating in at least 12 African countries, using a composite of financial metrics, strategic foresight, execution discipline, world-class governance, and global vision to attain its aspiration of being the gateway and catalyst for mobilizing capital for growth and development across Africa”.

It was similarly honoured with the Investment Holding Company of the Year Award at the 2019 and 2020 editions of BAFI.

Ladigbolu is a Lagos-based journalist