Skye Bank Plc has announced that it is seeking to raise fresh capital in the first quarter of 2016 in a bid to shore up its capital base.
This was disclosed by the group managing director Timothy Oguntayo, at an interactive session with top stockbrokers in Lagos.
The bank’s boss said that the fresh capital will improve the bank’s working capital just as it is shifting its business focus to retail and commercial banking as it enters a new growth phase after the acquisition and seamless integration of the erstwhile Mainstreet Bank Limited.
According him, the bank is already in discussions with its key shareholders and some potential strategic investors who they believe provide the required capital, saying, “The sell-offs in the capital market has impacted negatively on fund-raising activities in the capital market with investors preferring to pitch institutional investors or shareholders with significant equity stake.”
He explained that the bank’s capital adequacy ratio of 15.87 per cent for the bank, out of which 12.4 per cent is covered by common equity, was already in compliance with the Basel 11 provisions.