By Babajide Komolafe

Wema Bank have is set to reapply for National banking license following the prospects of N35 billion tier capital injection by the end of this year.

Meanwhile the bank has released its operating results for year ended December 31st 2011, which show 29 per cent increase in gross earnings and 56 per cent increase in operating income.

Managing Director/Chief Executive, Wema Bank, Mr.  Segun Oloketuyi disclosed this while presenting the operating results of the bank to the capital market regulators and operators last week.

He said that plans were at advanced stages to conclude on a N35billion tier-1 Capital raising exercise which commenced a few months ago with a firm commitment of N15billion by a core investor already in place. “We expect to begin the process of seeking regulatory approval as soon as all necessary plans are finalised”, he stated.

He said that despite the daunting dynamics of the operating environment, the bank remains committed to scaling growth positively whilst adhering to best practice in risk-management and corporate governance, without compromising on the bank’s values of integrity, professionalism and exceptional service delivery.

“The past three years have seen Wema Bank evolve into one of the leaders in the retail banking space through a well-structured transformation process that has seen the implementation of sound corporate governance and risk management frameworks to further engender a stronger and more dynamic business model. We are thus confident in our resolve to translate challenges into opportunities and maximising value for all stakeholders”, he said

A review of the trend of Wema Bank’s financial performance shows a positive, upward trend since 2009 when the new management took over with gross earnings growing 35.02 per cent to N25.64billion as at December 2011. Though gains in earnings and various cost-containment strategies were largely wiped off by one-off impairment charges on other assets culminating in an after-tax loss of N8.116bn in December 2011, the bank has however fully realigned its books for positive performance.

Nevertheless, a growth of 9.45 per cent to N222.24 billion was recorded in total assets in 2011 whilst an aggressive focus on cleaner loan books and better risk management has seen a significant reduction in non performing loans (NPL) ratio from 56 per cent in FY2010 to 14 per cent in FY2011.

The NPL further reduced to  4.5 per cent as at Q3, 2012.  On the injection of additional capital, Oloketuyi expressed optimism that it will enable the bank achieve optimal business results by driving volumes as more risk assets and investment securities are financed in the short-to-medium term.

The additional capital position will also enable Wema Bank seek regulatory approval for a National Banking license to further take advantage of opportunities in other commercial hubs in the country. In the long term, Oloketuyi said Wema Bank expects to maintain robust liquidity and ensure efficiency in investments whilst continuing to focus on attracting and retaining the best talents in the industry, efficient customer service delivery, supporting key business areas of SME banking, retail and commercial banking and the achievement of superior returns in order to become the leading retail bank in Nigeria”.