As the initial phase of capital raising activities concludes, financial analysts have attributed the delay in the allotment of shares to the investor verification process conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Following the announcement of the new capital base by the CBN in March, some banks have gone to the market to raise funds.
They include Guaranty Trust Holdings Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Holdings Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and FCMB Group Plc, which have approached the market to raise funds via a combination of public offers and rights issues.
These lenders raised a total of approximately N1.26tn ($770m) in the last two months to meet the CBN’s requirements.
The last of the offers was concluded late last month and the ball moved to the court of the apex bank to verify the investors, especially those who have bought significant stakes in the banks.
The Head of Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co., Ayokunle Olubunmi, explained, “After they (the banks) are done with the offer, they send it to the CBN for verification, checks and that doesn’t have a specific time frame.”
