The shareholders of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) have approved the holding company (HoldCo) structure for the bank, as they expressed excitement over the benefits they would gain from the new structure.
The shareholders in a statement on Sunday gave the approval to transfer 29,431,179,224 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in the issued and paid-up share capital held by investors to Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc.
This, in exchange for the allotment of 29,431,179,224 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to the shareholders in the same proportion to their shareholding in the bank credited as fully paid without any further act or deed.
This came after a Court Ordered Meeting held on Friday, Dec.4, 2020.
Sir Sunny Nwosu, Founder, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), spoke on behalf of members.
He expressed excitement over the planned restructuring as the arrangement the bank had put in place was devoid of complexities usually known as share reconstruction.
“We are excited about the development because we are going to get value as everything we have would be transferred to the holding company.
“There will be no manipulation as a result of reconstruction that usually leads to fractional shares,” he said.
Mr Boniface Okezie, President, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, said: “GTBank has over the years proven to be a force and leading initiator of revolutionary advancement and technology based development in the nation’s banking industry.
“We look forward to the growth and advancement it is sure to bring into the new business areas it will be taking on with the Holdco structure.
“The arrangement where all existing shares of the bank would be transferred entirely to the Holdco in the name of the beneficial owners is good, while the same number of units and percentage would be held in the new entity, is commendable,” he added.
Also, Mr Segun Agbaje, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, GTBank Plc, spoke at the court ordered meeting.
He explained that going by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s regulations which required the separation of commercial banking business from other financial services businesses, the bank was adopting a HoldCo structure.
Agbaje said: “I am delighted over the approval by shareholders for the holding company.
“And I assure them of a more rewarding future. The bank will not embark on any share reconstruction as the same number of shares they have with the bank will be maintained.
“Under the new structure, existing shareholders of GTBank would be migrated to Guaranty Trust Holdings via a share-for-share exchange between the shareholders of GTBank and GTHoldings.
“The overall strategy was to create an operating model that would profitably grow the bank’s presence in the market for commercial banking and non-banking financial services.
“This is in order to achieve the aspiration to be the dominant financial services group,” Agbaje explained. (NAN)