Segun Agbaje, GTCO’s Group CEO, Appreciates Shareholders, Regulatory Authorities, For Unwavering Supports As The Bank Completes 1st Phase Of Equity Capital Raise Programme

<h4>Segun Agbaje<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc &lpar;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;GTCO Plc” or the &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Group”&rpar; &lpar;NGX&colon; GTCO&rpar; is pleased to announce the successful completion of the first tranche of its equity capital raise programme&comma; following the completion of the capital verification exercise conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria &lpar;CBN&rpar; and the approval of the Basis of Allotment of the Offer by the Securities and Exchange Commission &lpar;SEC&rpar;&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Offer&comma; which garnered substantial interest from domestic retail investors&comma; raised a total of ₦209&period;41 billion from 130&comma;617 valid applications for 4&comma;705&comma;800&comma;290 Ordinary Shares&comma; fully allotted&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This milestone concludes the first phase of GTCO’s phased equity capital raise programme&comma; which is structured on a balanced allocation strategy based on an equal split between institutional and retail investors&period; This balanced approach aligns with GTCO Plc’s commitment to fostering a well-diversified and robust investor base&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Commenting on this phase of the recapitalization exercise&comma; Segun Agbaje&comma; Group Chief Executive Officer of <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">GTCO Plc&comma;<&sol;a> expressed his gratitude&colon; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We extend our sincere appreciation to our new and existing shareholders&comma; as well as the regulatory authorities&comma; for their unwavering support during this initial phase of our equity capital raise&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The strong participation and successful capital verification exercise and allotment process reaffirm the confidence investors have in our fundamentals and execution capabilities&period; This sets a solid foundation for accelerating our strategic roadmap&comma; which aims to pivot the Group for transformational growth and unlock greater value across the Group’s Banking and Non-Banking businesses&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>GTCO Plc continues to lead its peers in key profitability metrics and financial performance&period; Building on this successful first phase&comma; the Group will commence the second phase of its recapitalization plan in 2025&comma; which is strategically positioned to attract significant foreign institutional investments&comma; reinforcing its reputation as a <strong>&&num;8220&semi;Truly International&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;strong> financial services brand&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Proceeds from the combined equity raise will be strategically deployed to recapitalize the Group’s flagship subsidiary&comma; Guaranty Trust Bank Limited &lpar;GTBank Nigeria&rpar;&comma; enhancing its ability to meet regulatory requirements and further solidify its position as a leading financial institution&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Additionally&comma; the funds will support Group-wide growth initiatives&comma; including footprint expansion&comma; product enhancement&comma; and innovation across both Banking and Non-Banking subsidiaries&period; GTCO remains committed to delivering sustainable value to its stakeholders and driving innovation across the financial services landscape in Africa&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>About GTCO Plc<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The GTCO Plc Group is one of the largest financial services institutions in Africa&period; Headquartered in Lagos&comma; Nigeria&comma; Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc maintains direct and indirect investments in a network of operating entities located in 10 countries across <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;vanguardngr&period;com&sol;">Africa and the United Kingdom<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Within these regions&comma; the operating entities provide a comprehensive range of commercial banking and related financial services to millions of retail&comma; institutional&comma; private banking and wealth management customers&comma; in addition to asset management&comma; pension fund administration&comma; and payment technology businesses&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;