By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOPCATE)- Nigeria’s First City Monument Bank Plc, Tuesday forecast a 20 percent (20%) fall in the First-Quarter (Q1) Profit After tax (PAT) compared to N4.003 billion it made in last year’s result for the same period.

This is contained in the Forecast Earnings of the Bank released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos Nigeria and made available to www.investadvocateng.com.

The Forecast Earnings stated that Profit After Tax (PAT) in the three months January to March was expected to be N3.210 billion down from N4.003 billion in the Q1 Result for the Period Ended March 31 2012.

According to FCMB, it expects to also make N4.295 billion Profit Before Tax (PBT) and a Gross Earnings of N31.483 billion in the same period of year 2013.

This is coming on the heels of shareholders approving the delisting of the Bank in readiness to the listing of FCMB Holdco on the Floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Shareholders of FCMB had on Monday during a Court Ordered Meeting of the Bank collectively agreed that all holders of Ordinary Shares of the Bank as at the terminal date would exchange their shares in FCMB for shares in the Holdco at the rate of one bank share for one Holdco share (1 for 1).

Ladi Balogun, Managing Director (MD) of FCMB had said the bank’s shareholding in acceptable non-banking subsidiaries and investments would be transferred to the Holdco at the respective book values of the said subsidiaries and investments on the bank’s balance sheet as at December 31, 2011.

In the same vein, Jonathan Long, Chairman of FCMB, said the Bank’s proposal, as contained in the compliance plan, was put in place to create a new non-operating holding company, FCMB Group Plc which will hold the shares in the commercial banking business as well as the current acceptable non-banking subsidiaries and investments.