First Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading banks has decided to exercise the option of repaying a $450 million Eurobond ahead of its July 2021 due date. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the bank was reported to have said it “will exercise its option to call the $450 million 8 per cent subordinated notes, raised from the International Debt Markets (IDM), due in July of 2021.
“The bank seeks to call and pre-pay holders of the Note at the next callable date of July 23, 2019,” the commercial lender, which is the largest subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said. The filing signed by Seye Kosoko, the company secretary of FBN Holdings said the liquidity management exercise demonstrates the strength of the bank’s foreign currency liquidity and robust capital base. It said the option will also further enhance the efficiency of the balance sheet of the commercial lender.
It would be recalled that last July, the bank also repaid a $300 million Eurobond debt, two years before it matures in 2020. Also, early in the year Access Bank announced plans to repay its Eurobond ahead of maturity, indicating robust liquidity positions of some the leading banks in the country.
