Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has obtained an approval-in-principle from the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operate as a financial holding company.

This disclosure was made by the Board of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc in a press release sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The press release partly reads: “Guaranty Trust Bank plc (GTBank or the Bank) is pleased to announce that it has obtained the approval-in-principle of the Central Bank of Nigeria (the CBN) to commence the formal process of the reorganization of the Bank to a financial holding company (The Restructuring), which will be implemented by means of a scheme of arrangement between the Bank and its shareholders pursuant to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (the Scheme).”

However, the bank also obtained the “No-objection” of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the proposed Scheme.

GTBank Chief Executive Officer Segun Agbaje had in March disclosed that the tier-1 bank is currently considering a holding company structure.

Agbaje during the company’s earnings call as of the time of the report in March, disclosed that a holding company structure will enable the bank to keep up with the latest trends in the Nigerian financial services industry.

Under the Restructuring, it is proposed that the issued shares of the Bank will be exchanged on a one-for-one basis for the shares in a financial holding company. The Bank’s existing Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) are also proposed to be exchanged on a one-for-one basis for new GDRs to be issued by the financial holding company.

Subject to the approval of the Scheme by the Bank’s shareholders, the relevant regulatory authorities, and the Federal High Court of Nigeria; the holding company will have an organizational structure that is used by a significant number of major financial institutions globally.

The financial holding company will be regulated by the CBN as the Other Financial Institution and listed on the Official List of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Concurrently, the Bank will be delisted from the Official List of the NSE and the LSE and re-registered as a private liability company under the relevant provisions of Nigeria’s corporate legislation.

However, the bank will continue to be subject to the full suite of CBN banking regulations.

•Adapted from a Nairametrics report.

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