UBA to seek shareholders’ approval for capitalrRaise via multiple windows

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, says it will seek shareholders’ nod to raise capital to meet the recapitalisation requirement stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

UBA disclosed this in a statement filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), ahead of the bank’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for May 24, 2024.

According to the Tier-1 financial services institution, the board will propose the capital be raised in the Nigerian or international capital markets by way of public offerings, private placements, rights issues or other transaction modes.

The development is coming after the apex regulator had 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.

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 a minimum of N385 billion to meet the capital requirement for international licence holders.