Nairobi — Shareholders of Co-operative Bank of Kenya passed a resolution to increase the bank's authorised share capital from Sh3.7 billion to Sh5 billion, during its annual general meeting held on Friday.
"This will enable us grow our balance sheet and expand our business," Mr Gideon Muriuki, managing director and chief executive officer, said.
Although Mr Muriuki added that details on what option to raise funds is yet to be worked out, the bank will have a chance to float a rights issue, capitalise reserves through a bonus offer to shareholders and employees or finance an acquisition through a share swap, with the creation of additional 1.3 billion shares.
Co-op Bank's growth over the years, now ranked number three in terms of assets, has thinned the capital base and the move to increase the number of shares gives it space to finance future growth.
According to records, the bank has already issued 3.5 billion shares from a total pool of 3.7 billion, which leaves only 200 million shares.
This means the remaining shares will not be enough to create a pool for bonus issues.
The bank, using a partnership model, is eyeing the regional market to increase its footprint.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment