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Wema Bank ready for regional banking

By on April 26, 2011

Wema Bank has said the capital currently at its disposal is above the minimum required regulatory capital to operate as a commercial bank with regional authorisation.

In a statement jointly signed by the Acting Head, Corporate Communications, Amaka Okpala and Legal Adviser/Company Secretary, Wole Ajimisinmi, and made available to the Nigerian Tribune, the bank indicated that  it had no plan to raise another N50 billion as being speculated, stressing that the capital realised from its private placement, sales of bad debts to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and debt recovery was enough to operate as a regional bank.

The bank had earlier this year said that it realised N7.5 billion from its Placement Offer which had since been approved by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) while it had got N15.2 billion from the sale of some of its Non Performing Loans (NPLs) to AMCON and had recovered about N30 billion from its hitherto bad loans as at December 31, 2010.

“The combination of all these efforts have now returned the bank into positive capital above the minimum required regulatory capital to operate as a commercial bank with regional authorisation,” the statement stated.

The bank also clarified that no definite position had been taken on the number of branches to close in line with its plan to go for regional authorisation, stressing that it was still considering closure of its non-profitable branches in the North and South East to enable it focus on its new catchment area under regional banking license.

Earlier statements from the bank also said that it was considering closure of some of its non-profitable branches in the North and South East, to enable it concentrate on areas where its strength lied in the South-South and South-West. This is in line with the regional banking requirement to operate in 12 contiguous states lying within 2 geo-political zones of the federation.

It added that for the avoidance of doubt, its application to the CBN for approval of Commercial Banking license with regional authorisation is receiving the attention of the authorities as contained in the November 2, 2010 press release of the apex bank on the recapitalisation of the bank.

Source : Tribune