Skye Bank Plc says it plans to raise additional tier one capital of N30bn in the third quarter of 2015 to bolster its capacity to explore business and maintain an efficient capital adequacy ratio.
The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Skye Bank, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, said this on Wednesday at a breakfast meeting with stockbrokers in Lagos, a statement by the bank said.
The Skye Bank GMD was quoted as saying that the bank would intensify its customer acquisition drive across retail segments and optimise its deposit mix through the mobilisation of low-cost funding to bring down its cost of doing business.
Oguntayo told the stockbrokers that the bank would focus on retail banking with emphasis on individuals and Small and Medium Enterprises. According to him, the SMEs will be accorded top priority.
In line with the bank’s goals, he explained that it had gone into ‘strategic partnership’ with the International Finance Corporation to strengthen its retail banking capacity and framework to underscore the importance attached to the new business focus.
Oguntayo also said that the bank had plans to ensure its customers accept the electronic banking culture as that would enable them have a pleasant banking experience on all of the bank’s channels.
The Skye Bank GMD also spoke about the impact of its acquisition of Mainstreet Bank Limited.
According to him, the move has made Skye Bank Nigeria’s fourth biggest bank in terms of branch network. The bank now has 469 branches and 887 automated teller machines.
He stressed that the combination of both banks was expected to lead to operational synergies, which in turn was expected to result in resource optimisation and the enhancement of shareholder value.
He added that it would also create opportunities for the deployment of e-channels products and capabilities to clients of Mainstreet Bank.
Oguntayo, who disclosed that the full integration of Mainstreet Bank would be achieved in June this year, said, “Increased balance sheet size of the combined entity will provide an enhanced capacity to provide credit to a larger number of corporate and retail clients.”
Skye Bank’s assets had hit N1.42tn at the end of the 2014 financial year, reflecting a 26.8 per cent growth over the N1.12tn it recorded in 2013.
Its total equity had increased by 8.9 per cent to N132.3bn in 2014 from N121.4bn in 2013, while its retained earnings had grown by 71.1 per cent, rising to N33.7bn from N19.7bn recorded in 2013, which reflected the group’s pursuit of growth in a stable, strategic and an enduring manner.
Following the release of the results, Oguntayo said Skye Bank had in spite of the challenging operating environment carefully grown its risk assets portfolio, attained a 15.7 per cent growth in deposits, supported customers in critical and productive sectors of the economy, and declared a fairly decent profit.
Punch
