As part of its drive to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN's) recapitalisation requirements, investors of Sterling Financial Holdings Company PLC have injected $50m (about N75bn) into the institution.
The capital injection was achieved through a private placement from a consortium of domestic investors and ultra-high-networth groups in Lagos last week and is in the final stages of approvals by the regulators.
Speaking at the signing ceremony for the placement, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Financial Holdings Company, Yemi Odubiyi, said that this capital raise signifies the market's confidence in the vision and potential of the enterprise.
He said, "The investors' decision to entrust Sterling HoldCo with their hard-earned capital is built on our ability to challenge the norm in Nigeria's financial services sector.
"Our investors recognize that beyond the profits declared and dividend payouts, we are an enterprise that has consistently demonstrated capacity for innovation, creating and leveraging new opportunities within and outside the industry to deliver value to all our stakeholders."
The Sterling HoldCo, it would be recalled, transitioned from a commercial bank to a full-fledged financial holdings company with two subsidiary banks: the specialized financing arm, The Alternative Bank, and the conventional commercial bank, Sterling Bank.
