The Nigerian Stock Exchange has listed 32.6 billion ordinary shares of FBN Holding Plc .

The shares were listed following the delisting of the entire shares of First Bank of Nigeria Plc in compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulation requiring the separation of commercial banking business from other financial services businesses.

An Extraordinary General Meeting of the FirstBank held on September 24, 2012 had ratified the process after relevant approvals were obtained from the regulatory authorities.

FBN Holdings comprises First Bank of Nigeria Limited, FBN Capital Limited, FBN Life Assurance Limited, FBN Insurance Brokers Limited and FBN Microfinance Bank.

Speaking during the listing on Monday, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, FBN Holdings, Mr. Bello Maccido, said the holding company structure promised enhanced service delivery, performance and profitability for the group’s customers, shareholders and investors.

He added that  while customers of the group’s banking and non-banking subsidiaries would continue to experience the friendly and innovative service in keeping with FirstBank’s culture, shareholders of the holding company would benefit from the entire businesses in the Group.

He said, “We have created an operating model that will drive service excellence and profitably grow the group’s presence in commercial banking and non-banking financial services in order to achieve the aspiration to be the dominant financial services group in Sub-Saharan Africa within the next five years.

“The holding company structure is designed to enhance the group’s competitiveness, streamline and coordinate various operations across non-bank financial services, and further exploit opportunities for synergies between subsidiaries. What we now have is a structure that has the potential to do much more for our customers and protect and preserve shareholders’ value through retention of good investments.”

According to him, FBN Holdings will operate a corporate centre with responsibility for setting strategic direction and providing group-wide oversight through the constitution of a governing board and committees at the group level to optimally align corporate governance and management roles.

He also explained that the HoldCo structure does not change the rights and ownership of existing shareholders of the bank, adding that their shareholding would be migrated to FBN Holdings Plc in exchange for receiving ordinary shares in FBN Holdings equal to the number of shares they held in First Bank immediately before the effectiveness of the restructuring.

Source: Punch (written by Udeme Ekwere)