Fidelity Bank Seeks $500 Million Foreign Currency Loans
Tier 2 lender, Fidelity Bank Plc, says it is considering $500 million capital raising from the international debt market through an unsecured note issuance. Nigerian banks have started a journey into the Eurobond market ahead of the implementation of the Basel III accord.
In a statement, the Fidelity bank management notified the Nigerian Exchange about planned investors meetings with regards to the foreign currency raise on Monday. According to the Tier 2 lender, the proceeds of the Eurobond raise are intended to be used for its general corporate purposes including supporting its trade finance business.
“The proposed aggregate offer of $500 million due in 2026 which will when issued will rank parri passu without preference with all other unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of the bank”, the statement reads.
Fidelity bank also reveals the intention to list the note on the Irish Stock Exchange with the expectation that the note will be traded on its regulated market. It said the Securities and Exchange Commission has confirmed no objection to the note, the bank said in a statement.
In the first half of the financial year 2021, Fidelity Bank Plc.’s numbers showed a significant year on year growth in both pre and post-tax profit, supported by significant growth in fee and commission income.
Fees and commission income jumped 39.1% year on year and there was a 9.8% reduction in operating expenses while the impairment charge bumped 70.6% amidst a marginal growth in net Interest Income.
The bank pre-tax profit and profit after tax grew significantly, up 72.4% year on year and 70.8% year on year respectively to N20.6 billion and N19.3 billion.
Its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 18.8% remains significantly above the regulatory minimum of 15%, according to detail in the financial statement.# Fidelity Bank Seeks $500 million Foreign Currency Loans
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