By InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Fortis Microfinance Bank Plc, Wednesday listed shares worth N1.6 billion on the Floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos Nigeria.
With this listing, the Firm has emerged the second Microfinance Bank to list its shares on the Floor of the Nigerian Bourse after NPF Microfinance Bank Plc.
Fortis listed by introduction 1,630,091,000 billion ordinary shares of 50kobo each at N5.00.
Kunle Oketikun, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of the Microfinace Bank said to tackle the growing incidence of insecurity in the country, there is need for the Federal Government to inject funding and develop the Micro Finance Bank subsector of the Nigerian Economy.
Oketikun affirmed the spate of insecurity in the domestic economy is as a result of the high rate of the productive class not being meaningfully engaged by the both the Private and Public Sector.
According to him, given the operational modus of Micro Finance Banking in the country, if they are well funded, they will be able to crate job opportunities and make the productive class engaged meanifully.
“We will help create jobs and make them engage in little businesses that would stave the Boko Haram of army of youths to prosecute their activities†he said.
Oketitun who said they operate an Academy that helps to train other Micro Finance Bank Operators and a Mobile Money Transfer scheme, noted that the Bank is geared towards rising a N2 billion equity offering and a bond to increase its working capital in line with its expansion strategy.
Oscar Onyema CEO of the Nigeria’s Exchange earlier in his remark called on Micro Finance Banks in the country who are still foot-dragging to approach the Market for listing as there are enormous benefits to be derived from such listing.
According to him, aside from giving them the needed impetus to be recognised both locally and internationally, Quoted Companies are better managed because they are bound to open their books to the public for scrutiny.
“Some of the difficulties Microfinance Banks currently face include: lack of adequate skills set by operators for effective service delivery; lack of proper corporate governance and management structure, inefficient internal controls and poor credit administration; and, lack of adequate capital base leading to insufficient loanable funds.
To this end, NSE GM, Listing Sales and Retention presented a paper at this year’s AGM of the National Association of Microfinance Banks and called on the banks to consider listing on The Exchange as the rigors of listing will address the various shortcomings mentioned. We expect to see an increase in the number of MFBs listing on the Exchange following CBN’s capitalisation requirement for nationwide coverage†the NSE CEO said.
Onyema further affirmed that with the listing of Fortis MFB on The Exchange, the company becomes the second micro finance bank to be listed on the Nigerian Bourse out of 600 licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“The listing of Fortis MFB now bring the total listed equities on the Exchange to 200, even as the company has added an addition of N3.43 billion, thus bringing the cumulative market capitalisation to N8.1 billionâ€ÂÂ, he added.
