NGX delists GTBank for GTHoldCo

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has notified the market that the entire 29,431,179,224 issued shares of GTB were delisted from the Daily Official List of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Thursday June 24, 2021 while GTHoldco’s entire issued share capital of 29,431,179,224 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each were same day listed on the Daily Official List of NGX at N28.55 per share.

The NGX had on June 18, 2021 notified the market that trading in the shares of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTB) was placed on full suspension effective Friday, June 18, 2021 in preparation for the delisting of GTB and listing of the Holding Company, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GT HoldCo).

The delisting of GTB and listing of GT HoldCo (GTCO) on NGX is pursuant to the Scheme of Arrangement between Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and the holders of its fully paid ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each as approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission and sanctioned by the Court.

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The financial institution is adjusting its operating model and service offerings to remain relevant in the financial services sector and position the bank for sustainable long-term growth given the increasing evolution of businesses across the globe.

The GTB Holdco structure will consist of the banking subsidiaries and the non-banking subsidiaries. The banking subsidiaries will include GTBank (Nigeria, West Africa & East Africa) and GTBank UK while the non-banking subsidiaries will be a payment company, an asset management company, and a pension business.

The bank’s current board will be dissolved, and new boards reconstituted for both the Holdco and the bank.

“GTBank stands to benefit from the decision to operate as a holding company as this gives the bank opportunity to diversify its revenues away from the increasingly competitive commercial banking landscape. Operating the payment business as a separate company will also better position the bank to deal with competition from fintechs and the growing payment ecosystem”, said CSL Research analysts in their June 22 note.

They further noted, “We also believe the bank already has an effective payment system base to take off. Provided acquisition cost is not exorbitant, we believe the bank can leverage its broad customer base to grow its pension business organically. More importantly, the new structure helps to preserve the senior management team (particularly the Managing Director of the bank who becomes the Managing Director of the Holding Company) who has been responsible for the success of the bank over the years.”