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Fitch rates Zenith Bank’s $1bn GMTN ‘B ‘

By BusinessNews Staff on April 4, 2014

Global rating agency, Fitch Ratings, has assigned Zenith Bank Plc’s $1 billion Global Medium Term Note (GMTN) programme a Long-term rating of ‘B+’ with a Recovery Rating of ‘RR4’ and a Short-term rating of ‘B’.

The recovery rating was in accordance with Fitch’s soft cap for Nigeria,” the agency explained in a statement yesterday.

Fitch noted that there is no assurance that notes issued under the programme “will be assigned a rating, or that the rating assigned to a specific issue under the programme will have the same rating as the rating assigned to the programme.”

Furthermore, it explained that the programme’s ratings aligned with Zenith Bank’s Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘B+/Stable’ and Short-term IDR of ‘B’, which Fitch affirmed on 4 March 2014. “The programme ratings are sensitive to a change in Zenith’s IDRs. The recovery rating is also sensitive to a change in Fitch’s assumption regarding recoveries in the event of a default,” it added.

Meanwhile, shareholders of Zenith Bank yesterday approved the N54.943 billion recommended for the 2013 financial year at the bank’s 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos.

Having recorded a profit after tax of N83.414 billion for the year, the directors recommended a dividend of N54.943 billion, which implies N1.75 per share.

Speaking at the AGM the shareholders commended the board and management of the bank for the impressive results. They also expressed happiness over the appointment of the bank’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Godwin Emefiele as the next Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

According to them, the appointment clearly showed the confidence reposed in the management generally and Emefiele in particular.

The shareholders also commended the succession plan in the bank, which has seen Mr. Peter Amangbo emerge as the GMD designate.

“When Jim Ovia left, people were saying the bank might not do well. But Emefiele took the bank to an enviable height and now he has been appointed the CBN governor. Peter Amangbo, who has been an executive director, has been made the new MD.

“This is a good succession plan showing the solid foundation Ovia laid for the bank. We are happy and expecting Amangbo to surpass the performance of Emefiele,” Dr. Faruk Umar of Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS) said.

In his address, Chairman of Zenith Bank, Steve Omojafor, said despite the challenging operating environment, the bank exploited the opportunities which translated into another excellent performance.

“These results are once again, an eloquent testimony to the sound financial health of our bank and group. For the bank’s total deposits was N2.079 trillion, representing 15 per cent increase over the previous year’s figure of N1.802 trillion,” he said.

Looking forward, Omojafor said “as a bank, we are continuously monitoring developments both in the local and global economy and applying pragmatic solutions to remain on top.”

[This Day]

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