Guaranty Trust Bank Plc announced that it has secured approval-in-principle from the Central Bank to operate as financial holding company.
This was disclosed in a press release by the company to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
According to the press release,
Guaranty Trust Bank plc (GTBank or the Bank) is pleased to announce that it has obtained the approval-in-principle of the Central Bank of Nigeria (the CBN) to commence the formal process of the reorganization of the Bank to a financial holding company (The Restructuring), which will be implemented by means of a scheme of arrangement between the Bank and its shareholders pursuant to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (the Scheme).”
The bank said that it made the decision to embark on the restructuring following a comprehensive strategic evaluation of the operating and competitive environment of the Nigerian banking sector in the near term. The bank expects that the financial holding company will have greater strategic flexibility to adapt to future business opportunities as well as market and regulatory changes than is currently the case.
Recently three other banks have secured approvals from CBN. They are Sterling Bank, Access Bank and
The financial holding company will be regulated by the CBN as an Other Financial Institution and listed on the official list of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (The NSE) and the London Stock Exchange (the LSE).
Concurrently, the bank will be delisted from the Official list of the NSE and the LSE, and re-registered as a private limited liability company under the relevant provisions of Nigeria’s corporate legislation.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, “a financial holding company is a company whose principal object includes the business of a holding company set up for the purpose of making and managing (for its own account) equity investment in two or more companies, being its subsidiaries, engaged in the provision of financial services, one of which must be a bank.”
Guaranty Trust Bank had the chance to operate as a Financial Holding company when CBN introduced the provision in 2010 but the bank decided to sell off its subsidiaries and retain its structure as a full commercial bank.
This new strategic direction means it has changed its mind and as it states “to adapt to future business opportunities as well as market and regulatory changes than is currently the case.”
