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Lagos - Nigeria's Wema Bank said on Thursday it would resume plans for a share sale to fund growth and has also started a process to raise $100m worth of naira bonds after getting approval to switch from a regional to a national bank.
Wema Bank said in April it aimed to complete a $100m seven-year dollar Tier 2 bond issue by the second quarter this year to fund its growing dollar loan book and also issue fresh equity of up to $201.03m by the fourth quarter.
But the bank had to suspend the plans partly because of a weakening in the naira in the domestic market due to the plunge in oil prices, said chief finance officer Tunde Mabawonku.
Mabawonku said the bank would now raise the Tier 2 bond in the domestic market during the first quarter of next year.
The regional bank said it received central bank approval this week to become a national bank after its capital base rose to $220m, complying with capital requirements for this category.
