Access Bank gets nod to raise additional GH¢450 in capital
Access Bank Ghana has now been given the green light from its shareholders to undertake a capital-raising exercise worth GH¢450 million.
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This will be implemented through the combination of a bond programme and rights issue, which are expected to deliver GH¢150 million and GH¢300 million respectively.
At an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held in Accra on Tuesday, it was further agreed that the issued bonds would subsequently be listed on the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The bank’s EGM follows the recent announcement by its parent company, Access Bank Plc, to inject additional capital into its operations during the first half of 2018.
This formed part of the bank’s recapitalisation exercise, which began with an Initial Public Offer (IPO) in 2016, ahead of the Bank of Ghana directive to banks to increase the minimum capital requirement to be GH¢400 million.
Addressing shareholders at the meeting, the Board Chairman, Mr Frank Beecham, explained that the meeting was important for shareholders to grant the bank the approval to enable it to increase its business opportunities.
He said some of the pledges the bank received during its IPO had not been redeemed, hence the need to issue bonds on the GFIM to raise the needed capital and ensure that the growth aspirations of the bank were well supported and funded.
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Growth/expansion drive
After the EGM, the Managing Director (MD), Mr Dolapo Ogundimu, noted that Access Bank was keen on securing additional investment so it could move to focus on its growth and expansion drive.
“We have set for ourselves a bold and ambitious target in the next phase of our growth strategy which will be underpinned by initiatives that are digitally led, customer focused and analytics driven, while consolidating our position in the retail market segment with robust platforms to serve millions across the country,” he said.
Mr Ogundimu further indicated that the bank was in a better position now than ever before to achieve its aspirations of becoming the world’s most respected African bank.
“We are grateful to our shareholders for once again placing their trust in the bank and its future. Having put in place the right governance structures and risk management frameworks, we are confident that we shall continue to build a sustainable banking franchise here in Ghana for the long term,” he indicated.