Sterling Bank Plc has announced that it has completed a significant milestone in its ongoing transformation to a financial holdings company with the delisting, transfer, and relisting of all shares to the Sterling Financial Holdings Company on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
The relisting signifies another major development in the ongoing transition, as unanimously approved by its shareholders.
Under the Scheme of Arrangement, Sterling Bank’s issued and paid-up share capital, valued at 28.8 billion outstanding shares, will be passed to the holding company in exchange for the allotment of the same units to shareholders.
This move, as ratified by the NGX, follows an approval-in-principle for Sterling to convert to a non-operating financial holding company as granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and is expected to enable the bank to continue to diversify its investment portfolio and expand its presence in the financial markets. The relisting also represents a strategic move for the bank as it continues to build momentum and position itself for long-term success. Upon the completion of the transition, the Sterling Financial Holdings Company will commence operations with two banking subsidiaries; Sterling Bank, which will operate as a conventional commercial bank; and The Alternative Bank Limited, which will operate as a non-interest bank.
Commenting on the development, Sterling Bank Chair, Asue Ighodalo, stated: “We are excited to embark on this journey as we seek to continue to provide the best services and product offerings to our customers, while continuing to create and deliver even more sustainable value for our shareholders.”
In recent times, Sterling has become renowned for its HEART of Sterling strategy, which focuses major investments in the Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation sectors of the economy, its progressive and youth-focused brand, which is a leading light in the financial services category, its award-winning talent recruitment and retention services as evidenced by the Best Place To Work In Nigeria record of victories, as well its recent successes in developing and shipping innovative products such as Specta, OneBank, i-Invest, Omni X and Imperium in fulfilment of the needs of the Nigerian market.
Sunnews