Fidelity Bank shareholders approve absorption of excess funds from public offer exercise
By Seun Ibiyemi
Shareholders of leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, have unanimously approved the absorption of surplus monies arising from the potential oversubscription of its ongoing Public Offer exercise.
This was one of the six resolutions secured by the Bank’s Board of Directors at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held virtually over the weekend.
Giving a background to the resolutions considered at the meeting, which had the representatives of various regulators in attendance, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Exchange Group and Securities and Exchange Commission, Chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, said the bank is committed to meeting the new capital requirement stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria within the regulatory timelines for compliance.
“The resolution proposed for shareholders’ approval at this EGM are to enable an increase in share capital from 22.6billion to 26.7billion by creating 8.2billion additional shares to accommodate potential oversubscription from the Public Offer and Rights Issue subject to regulatory approvals.
“The additional capital to be raised in the proposed resolution would also allow the bank to take advantage of emerging opportunities and secure long-term profitability and competitive advantage while ensuring increased shareholder value. We have seen a lot of demand for our shares. We think this is the chance to take on additional capital while making it easier for us to execute stage two of our capital raising strategy. So, we think this is a good thing for us to do at this time,” explained Chike-Obi.
Several shareholders seized the opportunity of the meeting to commend the Bank’s leadership for its sterling performance and affirm their support for the capital raising exercise.
The Chairman Emeritus of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, said, “I want to congratulate the board of directors on the love that people are showing for our bank as I was a part of the roadshows and I saw this firsthand. I trust that we would not disappoint them as we welcome new shareholders into our fold. Fidelity Bank is a choice bank for everybody today and as we go out, we are still converting more people to shareholders.”
On his part, the National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Mr. Boniface Okezie, opined, “I want to commend the entire board and management for taking this bold initiative.
“This means that not only would the Public Offer be oversubscribed, but we would also have cause to retain the excess funds. I encourage all shareholders to key into the offer as it would ultimately lead to increased returns for us.”
Similarly, the President, Pragmatic Shareholders Association, Mrs. Bisi Bakare commented, “I just want to appreciate the entire board, management and staff of Fidelity Bank Plc for the proactive step we have taken as regards our capital raising drive. This is very good. We pray for an oversubscription of the current Public Offer and Rights Issue exercise.”
It would be recalled that the Fidelity Bank Combined Offer exercise, which opened on 20 June 2024, is offering for subscription 10 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N9.75kobo per share through a Public Offer; and 3.2 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N9.25kobo per share to existing shareholders of the Bank through a Rights Issue.
Ranked as one of the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank with over 8.3 million customers serviced across its 251 business offices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom as well as on digital banking channels.
The bank has won multiple local and international awards including the Export Finance Bank of the Year at the 2023 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, the Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023 and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards; Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023; and Best Domestic Private Bank in Nigeria by the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards 2023.
