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Rand Merchant Bank has no plan to list on NSE – MD

By on February 8, 2013

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Rand Merchant Bank, Mr. Alan Pullinger, has said that the bank is not ready to list on the Nigeria Stock Exchange yesterday. Pullinger, who rang the closing bell of the Exchange in commemoration of the launch of the bank in Lagos yesterday, said that the bank is rather ready to support its clients to list. He said, ““At the moment, we hope to support a number of our clients either they want to list in the market or they want to expand their activities in the equities as well as the debt markets.

““We are ready to do that and we are also going to develop new products to support the growth and liquidity of the Nigerian market.”” According to him, Nigerian banks are very strong, very competitive and have a number of products, but it is also important for a developing economy to bring in new companies for more competition. He added that the bank is also planning to partner with the Nigerian banks in order to advance the economy.

““We see a lot of opportunities in the banking reform by the Central Bank of Nigeria in various sectors such as power, oil and gas and agriculture. We want to support the growth of the country, particularly the capital market. ““We believe that with the technology, the human resources and the capital we have, we should be able to make our presence felt in the country. We want to support all the industries we believe in Nigeria,”” he said. Pullinger stressed that the Nigerian capital market is a ripe for further development of new products, to attract more foreign investors. He said, ““The bourse is a vibrant and a very liquid market. If you look at the growth rate Nigeria is achieving, we believe it is going to be one of the key markets in the continent.

That is why we are looking at various opportunities to invest in the market.”” On the initial capital of the bank, he pointed out that the CBN requires $110m for a start and the bank has already involved in a number of projects in various areas. ““We hope to bring in more capital hence the business justifies,”” he added. The CBN had in November last year issued the country’’s first merchant banking licences in more than a decade to South Africa’’s FirstRand and local firm First Securities Discount House. They are the first since the regulatory distinction between merchant and commercial banking was axed twelve years ago.

 

[The Nation]