Ecobank gets shareholders nod for N840bn capital raise

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of the Ecobank Group on Thursday held its 36th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lomé, Togo, which was followed by an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).

The shareholders at the meeting authorised the board of directors to raise within a period of one year from the date of the meeting up to $600million (over N840billion).

The capital raise will be through senior-ranked debt, Tier 2-qualifying subordinated debt or a combination of these forms of instruments as the board of directors may deem appropriate.

The Group achieved profit before tax (PBT) of $581 million, up 8 percent from $540 million in 2022. In constant currency (that is excluding the adverse effects of translating local currencies into ETI’s reporting currency the US dollar), the increase in profit before tax is 34 percent. The Group recorded a record low cost-to-income ratio of 54.9 percent

At the annual general meeting, shareholders of ETI applauded the Group’s strong performance in 2023 with its net revenues exceeding $2 billion mark for the first time in nearly 10 years.

Ecobank has recently implemented its new growth, transformation and returns strategy to create shareholder value and deliver sustainable growth.

The strategy’s multiple initiatives and actions include entrenching its leadership position in affiliates in which it has high market shares; transforming its business performance in Nigeria and in subscale markets; solidifying its leadership in Corporate and Investment Banking; growing its Commercial Banking and Consumer Banking businesses; and growing volumes and total value on its payment ecosystem.

The shareholders also noted that this performance was achieved in the face of significant macro-economic headwinds such as high inflationary and interest rate environment, local currency depreciation, and geopolitical tensions.

Alain Nkontchou, Chairman, Ecobank Group, said: “2023 was an encouraging year for our Group. Our organisation has shown resilience in a rapidly changing operating environment.

The Board is proud of what our employees around the continent and in our affiliates in other regions have achieved, collectively and individually.”

Jeremy Awori, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group said, “Ecobank delivered a strong performance in 2023, demonstrating the competitive advantages of our resilient, diversified business model and the early results of our new Growth, Transformation and Returns strategy.

“We demonstrated financial prudence by carefully managing our shareholders’ capital, ensuring customer satisfaction at every touchpoint, and making informed decisions about pricing our assets and liabilities. We are confident that our strategy is paving the way for our continued success and growth,” Awori said.

The AGM also approved the appointments of Papa Madiaw Ndiaye, Louis Adande and Terence G. Sibiya as Non-Executive Directors succeeding the retiring Directors. Alain Nkontchou, Mfundo Nkuhlu and Hervé Assah stepped down from the Board after completing their terms of office.