Sterling Bank SPV Bond Gets Indicative Rating, Outlook Stable
GCR Ratings has assigned a national scale long-term indicative Issue rating of BBB+(NG)(IR) to Sterling Investment Management SPV Plc’s up to NGN30 billion Series 1 Senior Unsecured Fixed Rate Bond, with the outlook accorded as stable.
The issuer, Sterling Investment Management SPV Plc, is a special purpose vehicle incorporated in October 2015 solely to raise funds for Sterling Bank Limited.
In September 2025, GCR upgraded Sterling’s national scale long-term issuer rating to BBB+(NG) from BBB(NG), with a stable outlook.
According to rating analysts, the proposed NGN30 billion Series 1 Senior Unsecured Fixed Rate Bond (Series 1 Bond) is the first to be issued under the Issuer’s NGN250 billion Bond Issuance Programme.
GCR said the Series 1 Bond will constitute senior, direct, unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of the Issuer and Sponsor and will at all times rank pari passu and rateably without any preference with all other senior unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of the Sponsor, present and future, except to the extent that any such obligations are by their terms expressed to be subordinated in right of payment.
The indicative rating note released revealed that the Series 1 Bond will have a tenor of seven (7) years, maturing in 2033.
The coupon payments are expected to be paid semi-annually in arrears, in equal amounts, from the issue date to the maturity date, with a bullet repayment of the principal at maturity.
GCR said the Issuer could exercise the embedded call option for the early redemption of part or all of the principal on the Series 1 Bond and could be exercised 24 months after the issue date.
“The Issuer shall pass through the net proceeds from the Series 1 Bond issuance to the Sponsor by purchasing the Senior Unsecured Notes issued by the Sponsor, in line with the terms of the draft master notes subscription agreement.
“As such, Sterling Bank is the ultimate obligor for the Series 1 Bond and shall be obliged to meet the maturing obligations to the Series 1 Bondholders as and when due. The Sponsor shall utilise the bond proceeds for the financing of risk assets”.
Sterling Bank is a mid-tier licensed bank in Nigeria and a wholly owned subsidiary of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc.
Although the Issuer is Sterling Investment Management SPV, repayment of the obligations under the Series 1 Bond ultimately depends on the performance of the Sponsor, as the direct obligor of the Series 1 Bond, given its senior unsecured obligation status, GCR said in the rating note.
The Series 1 Bond is linked to Sterling Bank’s credit profile and financial position and bears the same default risk. As such, the national scale long-term indicative issue rating of BBB+(NG)(IR) on the Series 1 Bond is equalised with Sterling Bank’s national scale long-term issuer rating of BBB+(NG).
Given that the ability of the Issuer to meet its obligations on the Series 1 Bond is dependent on the financial position of the Sponsor, the accorded rating would be sensitive to a positive rating action on the Sponsor. Non-compliance with set covenants, as well as a downgrade of the Sponsor’s rating, could trigger negative rating actions, GCR said.
