Access Bank has become the first financial institution to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) N500 billion new minimum capital requirements for commercial banks with international authorization, well ahead of the March 2026 deadline.
This follows the announcement by Access Holding Plc, the parent company of the bank, of securing “full regulatory approval” from the CBN and Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its Rights Issue.
Access Bank was the first FUGAZ to embark on the right issue earlier in the year. It sought to raise N351 billion, increasing its share capital to N600 billion. With the capital raise’s success, the bank’s share capital would increase to N 600 billion, N 100 billion above the regulatory minimum requirement.
In a recent notice to investors, Access Bank announced that it has successfully raised N351 billion. According to the notice, the rights issue of 17,772,612,811 Ordinary Shares at 50 Kobo each, priced at N19.75 Kobo per share, raised the bank’s share capital to N600 billion, exceeding the Central Bank of Nigeria’s threshold of N500 billion by N100 billion.
The notice disclosed that the NGX E-offer platform facilitated the rights issue, providing a seamless and efficient experience for shareholders while reducing barriers to participation.
Reacting to this feat, Access Holdings Chairman, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CFR, said, “We are pleased that this time we are the first to breast the tape.”
Aig-Imoukhuede added that the Access brand had always resonated strongly with the local and international capital markets.
According to him, “The success of the Rights Issue demonstrates the resilience of Nigeria’s capital market and reinforces our shareholders’ confidence in the present value and potential of our company.”
He pointed out that since 2004, the bank had raised billions of dollars in capital to meet successive CBN recapitalisation directives.
Aig-Imoukhuede said the success of the rights issue further demonstrated the resilience of the country’s capital market and “reinforces our shareholders’ confidence in the present value and potential of our company”.
He said, “We deeply acknowledge the invaluable and strong support of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities and Exchange Commission who both played crucial roles in ensuring the integrity and efficacy of our rights issue exercise.
“We are also grateful to our valued shareholders, whose loyalty to the Access brand and vision for over 22 years has been most inspiring and unwavering. As we enter into the new year, we are well-positioned to leverage our enhanced capital base to deliver sustainable value for our stakeholders.”
Access Holdings remains the first CBN-licensed and regulated financial holding company to successfully execute a fully digital rights issue, embracing the power of technology to improve access to the equity capital market – in further testament to its commitment to innovation leadership.
Despite being the largest financial services company in the country, the tier-one financial institution has often trailed its peers when it comes to share price performance and dividend yield.
Access Holdings opened the year with a share price of about N25, it is currently trading at N24.4. However, the share price is up 23% from its right issue price.
Recall that on July 7, 2024, Access Holdings Plc announced that it received approval from the SEC for a rights issue of 17.77 billion ordinary shares, priced at N19.75 each. This offer allows shareholders to acquire one new share for every two shares held as of June 7, 2024.
At the Signing Ceremony, Bolaji Agbede, the Acting Managing Director/CEO of Access Holdings Plc, mentioned, “The Rights Issue is an important part of our 2023-2027 strategic plan. The capital raised will help us take advantage of new opportunities and provide value to our shareholders.”
Due to nationwide protests that disrupted business activities across Nigeria, the closing date for the rights issue was extended from August 14 to August 23, following SEC approval. This extension ensured that all interested shareholders got a fair chance to participate.