Securities And Exchange Commission Prepared For Post-Consolidation Challenges

TheSecurities and Exchange Commission's Director GeneralMusa Al-Fakisaid that the organization is geared up to face the challenges in the banking industry, post-consolidation. Al-Faki said that not less than NGN184 billion (US$1.4 billion) were raised by 39 banks through initial public offerings in the Nigerian capital market during the just concluded re-capitalization exercise. All allotments on these issues have been cleared by both the Commission and CBN. Mohammed Ville, the SEC 's corporate affairs' head praised the efforts of the commission for successful completion of the enormous task of timely handling the flurry of applications for banks' public offers and mergers/acquisitions.

Meanwhile,Union Bank of Nigeriaannounced that it targets a capital base of NGN150 billion (US$1.2 billion) post-consolidation. This would help the bank's efforts toward becoming a mega bank and enable it to hold the federal government's foreign reserves account. Speaking to newspaperVanguardafter its press briefing to unfold the bank's post consolidation exercise, Group Managing DirectorGodwin Obohsaid that the bank has the vision to become one of the mega banks in the country and would not relent in its effort of raising further capital even after the acquisition of three banks. Oboh said that the bank had over NGN3 billion as its capital base before the central bank issued directive to increase the shareholders' funds to NGN25 billion. Post consolidation, the bank around NGN58 billion, as its shareholders' funds.