BY BAMIDELE FAMOOFO
The board and management of Wema Bank Plc have made its intention to raise N40billion fresh fund through a Rights Issue. Two new shares will be offered to existing shareholders for every three ordinary shares which they also possessed.
Sequel to the announcement of the Rights Issue, the bank, through a court ordered meeting got its shareholders to agree to a share reconstruction plan which reduced its paid-up share capital from about N19.29billion to only about N6.43billion while about N12.85billion will be transferred into its share premium account.
The bank, which was recently declared the most innovative bank of the year, recorded growth in all its financial performance indices during its third quarter financial period ended September 30, 2021. Profit before tax increased by 135.8 per cent to N7.2bn in the third quarter of this year.
The unaudited nine-month 2021 financial results showed a year-on-year growth of 9.1 per cent in gross earnings to N63.1bn from N57.8bn in the corresponding period of 2020.
According to the financial statement, deposit liabilities grew by 9.3 per cent to N879.8bn in nine months from N804.9bn in the same period of 2020 while total assets increased by 10.7 per cent to N1.08tn from N979.5bn.
