FCMB Group Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading tier II financial institutions, has perfected plans to raise N30 billion from the debt market via bond issuance.

The group disclosed this in a statement signed by Funmi Adedibu, Company Secretary on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, and obtained by Investors King.

The N30 billion series I bond is an additional bond under the bank’s N300 billion debt issuance programme. The announcement was done after the group completed the registration of its N300 billion debt issuance programme with the Securities and Exchange Commission and received approval.

Debt issuance is a method used to raise funds by both the government and public companies through the sale of bonds to external investors. 

In part, the statement reads, “the Issuance represents the first non-sharia local currency AT1 instrument to be issued in Nigeria and has received CBN’s no-objection.”

“FCMB Group will commence the book build in respect of the Series I Bond on January 24, 2023.”

First City Monument Bank (FCMB), a member of FCMB Group Plc, is a financial services holding company headquartered in Lagos. FCMB Group Plc has nine subsidiaries divided among three business groups: commercial and retail banking, investment banking, and asset and wealth management.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has redeemed its 5-year US$400 million debt issued in 2017 to all holders, the bank said in a regulatory filing released on Tuesday.

The Lomé-based parent company of the Ecobank Group, announces today that it has repaid upon maturity the 5-year US$400 million convertible debt issued in September and October 2017.

According to the bank, the holders of the convertible debt did not exercise their option to convert their holdings into ordinary shares during the conversion period of 19 October 2019 to 13 October 2022.

As a result, ETI redeemed the debt at 110% of the principal amount, in line with the terms of the convertible debt agreements.

In addition, the repayment did not affect ETI’s regulatory capital since the debt had been fully amortised for capital in 2021.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has declared opened two Federal Government Savings Bond Offers for October 2022.

In a statement released by the DMO on Tuesday, Federal Government is offering a 2-Year FGN Savings Bond due October 12, 2024 at 11.382% per annum interest rate and 3-Year FGN Savings Bond due October 12, 2025 at 12.382% per annum interest rate.

The opening date for subscription was set as today, October 4, 2022 and the closing date was three days after, October 7, 2022.

According to DMO, the settlement would be done on October 12, 2022 while coupon payment dates are January 12, April 12, July 12, and October 12.

Unit of Sale was set at N1,000 per unit subject to a minimum subscription of N5,000 and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter, subject to a maximum subscription of N50,000,000.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of DMO, Patience Oniha DMO, during a presentation at an executive course on budgeting and fiscal responsibility organised by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission in Abuja, has said the federal government cut down on borrowings by increasing revenue generation and improve on expenditure.

In her paper titled “Debt Sustainability Challenges and Strategic Revenue Mobilisation Initiative”, Oniha explained that because the federal government had run deficit budgets for many decades, borrowings from external and domestic sources are unavoidable.

She said: “A budget may be surplus, balanced or deficit. Nigeria has run deficit budgets on a consecutive basis for decades.

“The financing of the deficits through borrowing from local and external sources is the principal reason for the growth in debt stock and debt servicing.

“One way to reduce budget deficits is to grow revenues; the other way is to prioritise expenditure and cut waste and leakages.”