Recapitalisation: UBA seeks shareholders’ approval to raise capital

United Bank for Africa (UBA) says it will seek shareholders’ approval at the company’s 62nd annual general meeting (AGM) to raise capital.

The AGM is scheduled to be held on May 24.

UBA disclosed this in a statement filed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Monday.

The development is coming after the Central Bank of Nigeria  (CBN), on March 28, directed commercial banks with international licences to raise their capital base to N500 billion, while national and regional financial institutions’ capital bases were pegged at N200 billion and N50 billion, respectively. 

UBA said the board will propose the capital be raised in the Nigerian or international capital
markets by way of public offerings, private placements, rights issue or other transaction modes.

The bank said the decision to raise the capital is subject to regulatory approval after consent from shareholders.

According to UBA, the instruments “can either be as a standalone issue(s) or by the establishment of capital raising programmes, whether by way of public offerings, private placements, rights issues and/or other transaction modes, at prices, coupon or interest rates determined through book building or any other acceptable valuation method or combination of methods, in such tranches, series or proportions, within such maturity periods and at such dates and upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the board of directors of the company subject to obtaining the requisite approvals of the relevant regulatory authorities”.

The company said the board would also propose increasing its issued share capital, from N17,099,710,683 to N22,500,000,000.

UBA, with a capital base of N115.82 billion, needs to raise N384.19 billion to meet the minimum capital requirement for international licence holders.

Meanwhile, like UBA, other banks have begun making plans to raise capital.

On April 8, First Bank Nigeria (FBN) Holdings announced plans to sell shares to private investors and existing shareholders to raise N300 billion.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc, in a statement on April 12, disclosed the board has proposed to raise $750,000,000 by way of public offerings and private placements.