GT Bank Scales NGX Hurdles, To Be Listed As Holdco

By Tosin Olatokunbo

GT Bank Plc, Nigeria’s biggest bank by capitalization has fulfilled all necessary requirements to be listed as a holding company, Holdco by the Nigerian Exchange, NGX.

The Segun Agbaje led bank, had, last year obtained the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN’s approval to transform into a mega company, and the bank’s management had immediately set machinery in motion to be listed as one of the holding companies in the Exchange.

“Guarantee Trust Bank Plc 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 last November.

Last Friday, the NGX suspended the shares of GT Bank Plc a step keen industry watchers say is the last in the process of listing the GTB Holdco on the Exchange after the shareholders of the bank had agreed to that effect.  After the listing, the bank is expected to be quoted as Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc on NGX and the London Stock Exchange, according to information from the bank.

The GTHC, the bank said would serve as the parent company and corporate entity for the bank’s Nigeria and African subsidiaries, as well as other future business endeavors.

According to the Managing Director/ Chief Executive of the bank, the Holdco is in fulfillment of creating a new business model that resonates with the expectations of shareholders and customers, as well as solidity the position of the commercial bank in the industry “Our transition into a holdco is a necessary step to future-proofing our leadership position, sustainably growing our earnings and achieving our long-term goal of be-coming one of the top five financial institutions in Africa. It is also a critical part of our response to the seismic shifts in customer expectations and changes in business models,” Agbaje said recently..

He said GTHC will expand into insurance, pension fund administration and other profitable retail businesses to enrich the lives of its customers.

Agbaje said “We will create a new payments business to deliver the innovative solutions that will deepen and extend digital financial services across Africa. We also believe that we are in a better position to drive an asset management business and a pension fund business, given our strong retail base and digital-first approach to financial services, which we have honed over the past decade.

“Taken together, our entry into these new growth areas will allow us maximize our potential in a way that banks were restricted from and enhance the value we create as a platform for enriching lives.”

According to him, following a decade of birthing innovative ideas and nurturing them into businesses, the holdco structure would he bank to unleash the power within, in ways that allow us thrive in spaces banks were excluded, build out the full value of the innovations they have nurtured over the years and deepen they value we can create stakeholders.