Trading of Wema Bank Shares have been restricted by NGX

Trading of Wema Bank Shares have been restricted by NGX

Wema Bank Plc, or simply Wema Bank, is a commercial bank based in Nigeria. The Central Bank of Nigeria, the country's banking authority, has granted it a license. As of 2019, Wema Bank operates ALAT By Wema, Nigeria's largest digital banking system, which is fully operational in all of the country's thirty-seven states and territories. Wema Bank is one of Nigeria's most rapidly rising commercial banks.

Despite their undeniable growth, they face yet another challenge.

Investors who intend to buy or sell Wema Bank shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited's floor would be unable to do so right now.

This is because the stock market has put a complete halt to trade in the financial institution's stocks.

The trade embargo on the company's equity went into force on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, and its value before the suspension was 92 kobo per unit.

Wema Bank is currently in this predicament, according to Business Post, as a result of the board's plan to rebuild the lender's stocks.

Wema Bank's board of directors seeks to reduce the number of issued and fully paid shares to allow the company to raise additional capital using available options approved by shareholders.

Wema Bank will combine every three of its shares into one, reducing the number of issued and fully-paid shares from 38,574,466,082 to 12,858,155,360 at the conclusion of the exercise.

"Trading license holders and the investing public are thus informed that trading in the shares of Wema Bank Plc was suspended Tuesday, March 8, 2022," according to a statement from the NGX. The suspension is necessary to prevent trading in the Bank's shares in preparation for the share reconstruction of the bank's issued and fully paid shares from 38,574,466,082 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to 12,858,155,360 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in the ratio of one share for every three held."

This newspaper stated in November 2021 that Wema Bank was exploring a rights offering to raise fresh capital from the capital market in order to maintain its competitiveness, especially in light of the planned Basel III-compliant regulatory environment.

The mid-level financial institution's Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) fell to 11.35 percent in the third quarter of last year, down from 15.01 percent in the full year of 2020.

Check out Wema bank's investor relation page for more.