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N25 bn Capital: Ecobank Nigeria Banks On Parent Coy Banking Ecobank Nigeria Plc has said it would meet the N25 billion new capital base directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for all banks in the country through a combination of fresh funds from its parent company - Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), additional funds from its existing shareholders as well as acquisition of one or two other banks. Managing director/chief executive officer, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Funke Osibodu made this known at a press briefing in Lagos. Specifically, she said 70 per cent of the required funds would be provided by the ETI, while the remaining 30 per cent would be raised through existing shareholders and acquisition of one or two more banks in the country. "Our parent company Ecobank Transnational Incorporated intends to increase its paid up capital to $150 million and be listed on the stock exchanges of Nigeria, Cote D'voire, South Africa and Ghana. "Part of the funds expected from that process would come to Nigeria and the new countries they intend to have presence in. Ecobank Transnational is solidly behind us because Nigeria is very important country to them. "We are very comfortable that by March next year we would have completed this process. Already, we have commence the process of shoring up our capital," the Ecobank Nigeria boss stressed. Speaking on the bank's expansion programme and marketing of new products to turbo-charge its competitive edge in the industry, Osibodu said Ecobank Nigeria's branches would grow from 30 to about 90 next year. To achieve this, the bank she said intends to open cash centers at 40 NIPOST locations across the country, cash centers at12 Nigerian universities as well as eight new branches. The Ecobank boss also unfolded plans of the bank to launch MasterCard. When this eventually comes to fruition, Ecobank Nigeria would be joining First Bank to issue MasterCard in Nigeria. Guaranty Trust Bank is also expected to join the duo. The group, with its holding company located in Lome, Togo had a balance sheet of $1,523 billion as at 2003, while its Nigerian unit had N27 billion, up from N24 billion in 2002. Ecobank Nigeria made a pre-tax profit of N1.1 billion in 2003 as against N700 million in the previous year. Who Are We ? | About THISDAYOnLine.com | THISDAY People | Contact Us © Copyright 2000 Leaders & Company Limited

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