First Atlantic Bank is set to meet the new minimum capital requirement of 400 million cedis for banks by the second quarter of this year, 2018.
This comes after the bank secured various investments, with the most recent being an investment with Advanced Finance and Investment Group (AFIG).
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison in November 2017, disclosed that five banks had so far met the minimum capital requirement.
In an interview with Citi Business News, the Managing Director of First Atlantic bank, Mr. Odun Odunfa said, AFIG Funds’ investment in the bank will strengthen the bank’s capital needs and get it closer to meeting the minimum requirement.
“We are close to 200 million cedis at the moment we are going through a Rights to Issue right now with existing shareholders and aside that, we are talking to other investors. So we are very confident that by the second quarter, we should have raised the needed money for the minimum capital requirement.”
Mr Odunfa further highlighted the other investment agreements signed unto recently.
“We have a group of twelve investors, I believe nine are local investors and three are foreign. So we continue to be confident in raising the money, I mean AFIG coming in tells you that the investment community is happy with us, I mean they understand our story and they believe in what we are doing, it’s the first private equity investment in a bank in Ghana in a long time, that community itself is opening up very quickly to us. But with that said we have our plans with existing shareholders and other institutional investors who are interested”.
Mr Odun Odunfa made these comments at the sidelines of a signing ceremony between First Atlantic Bank and AFIG Funds.
–
By: Anita Arthur/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana