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Sterling Bank to raise N35bn in fresh capital

By on December 19, 2015

Sterling Bank Plc will raise N35bn ($177m) in Tier II capital between January and February to expand its loan book next year, its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Yemi Adeola, has said.

He said the mid-tier lender saw no need to raise fresh equity capital, adding that the commercial lender had N90bn in shareholders’ fund with a capital adequacy ratio of 19 per cent, above the 10 per cent regulatory requirement, Reuters reported.

He spoke at a news conference in Lagos on Thursday.

“We are pursuing Tier II capital, we are at the end of it and hopefully between January to February we will have additional debt capital,” Adeola said.

Shares in the bank, which have fallen 25 per cent this year, shed 1.1 per cent on Thursday to N1.88.

Sterling Bank intends to expand its loan book by 20-25 per cent next year over 2015’s growth. Loan growth in the first half of this year was 3.2 per cent.

United Bank for Africa Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and Stanbic IBTC Bank have reduced lending this year, citing regulatory uncertainty and weak economic growth

The CEO said the bank’s assets base had hit almost N1tn in 10 years, and is targeting top-six position in the nation’s banking sector by 2020.

Five legacy financial institutions, namely Magnum Trust Bank; Indo Nigeria Bank; Trust Bank of Africa; MBM Merchant Bank and NAL Merchant Bank, had merged to produce Sterling Bank Plc some 10 years ago.

Adeola stated that the deposit liabilities of the bank had grown from N75bn in 2006 to N583bn in 2015 while equity rose from N26bn to N88bn.

Similarly, the bank’s customer base rose from 200,000 in 2006 to 1.4 million in 2015.

The CEO said in 2016, the bank would sustain its drive to become the leading consumer banking franchise, diversify its retail funding base and income streams with a view to achieving a top quartile position in all “our operating areas and enjoy a double-digit revenue growth year on year.”
[Punch]