By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The request by the board of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc to raise fresh N200 billion for the strengthening and positioning the organisation for sustained growth has been approved by shareholders.
The authorisation to source the funds was given at the inaugural Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the firm held recently.
While addressing investors at the gathering, the chief executive of Sterling Holdings, Mr Yemi Odubiyi, explained that the money would be used to shore the capital base of the company’s flagship banking subsidiary, Sterling Bank, “In line with evolving regulatory standards and the recent introduction of minimum capital requirements by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”
The banking sector watchdog in March 2024 directed banks to increase their capital base as part of efforts to grow the country’s economy to $1 trillion by 2030.
He used the occasion to highlight the performance of the organisation’s subsidiaries; Sterling Bank, a conventional bank, and The Alternative Bank, an ethical banking business.
Mr Odubiyi informed them of the intention to build non-banking revenue lines to progress the group’s rapid growth and capture even more value for shareholders by offering a wider range of services under the trusted Sterling brand, stating that efforts will be made to sustain the current trajectory by maintaining a customer-centric approach while making strategic investments in sustainable ventures that align with the company’s core values.
Business Post reports that in the 2023 fiscal year, Sterling Holdings, despite a challenging macro-economic environment, increased its assets by 36 per cent to N2.5 trillion, and its earnings rose by 26.6 per cent to N221 billion, with interest income growing by 21.5 per cent to N156 billion and non-interest income jumping by 40..6 per cent to N65.7 billion, as the profit for the year expanded by 11.8 per cent to N21.6 billion.
Sterling Holdings believes its adoption of the Holdco structure will provide opportunities to make inroads into other sectors within financial services, such as pensions, asset management, payment services, real estate, and different verticals, along with the current banking licenses held by the commercial and ethical banking subsidiaries, Sterling Bank and The Alternative Bank, which will operate as limited liability companies within the publicly traded holding company.