The Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO Plc), Mr. Segun Agbaje, yesterday said the group was excited about the opportunities the new structure the holding company has opened up, saying it would be turned into better value for all stakeholders.
Agbaje stated this at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, during the closing gong ceremony to commemorate the listing of the GTCO shares on the exchange.
Following the restructuring of GTBank into a holding company, entire issued share capital of 29,431,179,224 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each of GTCO were listed on the NGX on June 28, 2021.
Agbaje said: “At GTCO, we are very excited about the opportunities that have opened up to us with this restructuring, particularly because diversifying our income base has always been a major priority. As we venture into this new phase, we look forward to leveraging technology and introducing new business lines – including payments, asset management and more – that go beyond the needs of institutional or wholesale clients to improve retail clients’ access to the financial markets.”
According to him, following the transition, they could now compete more effectively with non-banks in this new and evolving competitive landscape, whilst creating more value for customers and shareholders than they ever could as a bank.
“Although we are delighted to have completed this rigorous transition process, we know that the hard work has just begun. We are in the final phase of building a new payments business that will deepen and extend digital financial services across Africa.
“We also believe that we are in a better position to drive an asset management business and a pension fund business, given our strong retail base and digital-first approach to financial services, which we have honed over the past decade,” he said.
In his speech, the CEO of NGX, Mr. Temi Popoola, said they were excited to welcome GTCO Plc and to congratulate the board and management on a successful restructuring.
“Given the recent completion of demutualisation of the exchange and the emergence of our new structure, we see many similarities between our organisations, particularly our outlook on the use of technology to advance business operations; the burgeoning opportunities in the retail market; and the importance of good governance in the corporate space.
“Today, we reiterate our commitment to being a trusted partner to GTCO and other listed companies and issuers as we continue to build a platform that allows our listed companies, investors and other stakeholders to maximise value in our market,” Popoola said.
