event this afternoon is a business meeting for me it's feeling like 20 years old now we're going to listen to that music later thank you very much for now please ladies and gentlemen may we please uh pay attention to this video which uh calls our attention to the safety and housekeeping as we are all guests of the Nigerian exchange for the next one and a half hours please let's watch ladies and gentlemen welcome to Nigerian exchange group event center at Nigerian exchange group your comfort and safety is our priority as part of our health and safety policy please listen to the following announcement for your convenience the restrooms are located to your right just outside the door of this event Hall in the unlikely event of an emergency two exits have been provided for your use a Stairway that you can access from the lift Lobby just before you enter the Event Center another emergency exit is located right behind the stage's backdrop the door can be opened by pushing the handle please do not use the elevators during an emergency rather locate the nearest exit from where you are sitting in a calm and orderly fashion emergency responders will also be available to provide additional instructions as required please switch off your cell phones or activate the silent function so we don't interrupt the proceedings here today once again welcome and do enjoy your stay at Nigerian exchange group all right thank you very much uh for that the Nigerian Exchange put together these facts behind what you call facts behind the figures and whether you're doing the right offer whatever you're doing is a platform that the exchange has put together over the years to ensure that there's transparency and there is investor confidence in the operations of the companies that are issuers and other participants in the market so tonight this afternoon we have the access Holdings PLC and making a briefing of his rights offer so this give you access to that 17.77% on behalf of access Holdings PLC please warmly Welcome to our M IU IM also within the big access family is the acting managing director access holding thank you very much for coming and also doing a briefing with us this afternoon is the managing director of Access Bank PLC itself Mr Rosevelt toon and the group chief Financial Officer of access Holdings PLC Mrs morun UI Madam thank you very much for coming now we have the Midwife to this the lead Midwife to this offer is the lead issu in house Mr B balugo representing Chapel Hill Denham the group CEO and the Doan for today is Mr Sam please give him a round of applause to one of the gentlemen of the city in order to move very speedily with time I will quickly invite Dr umaru karanga the chairman of the Nigerian exchange group to deliver his welcome address please give me a round of applause please thank you very much bosum and I will use the Nigerian tactics to say that let be stand on on existing protocol but the faces I've seen today here overwhelmed that we are a for a good things and with the caliber of the team from asset B I think is something that is worth listening and at the end of the day I believe this success of this offer to be over subscribed is a DA deal it gives me a great pleasure to welcome the board and managment of asset holding PLC to the neran exchange for his facts behind the rights of our presentation assets holding PLC and assets Bank limited The Entity that started it all what I would refer to as a phenomenal conceived by phenomenal Nigerians the bank was incorporated in 1989 and began operation shortly after but it really took off when the two brightest courageous and forward looking men that I have ever met IM andaba took over the bank in 2002 in just two decades they transform that drone of the mil struggling Bank into the biggest Financial Services institution in Nigeria and one of the biggest in the African continent it is no mean Feit it is one that has been achieved through seeing no ambition has been too big focusing on First Class Human Resources processes and services and ensuring consistency in such a large conglomerate from top to bottom assets Holdings I believe is a future case study for the best business schools in the world on how to build a world class Giant in a very short period and keep it growing the group is led by not only other person than my life brother who is one of our own the P one of the past president of the Nigeria Stock Exchange president NGS that with his support and the I stand here in front of you and I'm always proud to be associated with him is here to present the facts behind the offer that is bringing to the market ordinarily I will say the assets Holdings PLC does not have to broadcast why his offer is a goodbye giv the ample rewards the asud investors who invested in his earlier offers have enjoyed over the years in form of regular dividends and capital appreciation and I believe Chief wosu and other people that seated here today will confirm that to us but this is a company whose board and management are systematic in all that they do and so they are not just relying on their history to Market this offer they are here to show through facts and figures that the future is even brighter for the group and the wise shareholders who decides to invest in that current offer congratulations in advance on our part as an exchange we are committed to doing all that is necessary to ensure that both issues like assets Holdings PLC both wholesale and Retail shareholders have a seamless and efficient interface during this recapitalization period that is why we establish erals our digital primary Market platform Which con shareholders who wish to subscribe to offers such as asset holding on their phones and other Digital Services from the comfort of their homes shareholders can securely subscribe to these offers from the comfort of their office and homes and receive acknowledgement immediately within 2 minutes if you subscribe through our XR you are going to get your confirmation and I'm giving you my words and you go and try that and you prove me right we believe this platform will enhance investors experience and ensure greater participation in this offer let me conclude this brief welcome remarks by asking that we take one minute to please stand and remember let Hab Wii one of The Visionaries behind assets Holdings who sadly pass on recently may his gentle soul rest in perfect peace amen I would like us to please continue standing and applaud the other Visionary leader my live brother who is here in our mid today at the chairman of ass hold PLC thank you very much thank you very much you may be seated please in conclusion let me once more welcome you and thank you all for coming to NGS I will now leave the floor for the real thing that brought us today but before doing that I will invite some of our colleagues based on the agenda to say a word or to then we can hear from the hes mouth thank you very much for listening thank you so much Dr omaru Kanga the chairman Nigerian exchange group uh PLC uh of course the briefing been done today by access bank led by uh the chairman IU aim Mo with the rest of his team both on this side of the hall and others who executive directors and other um um uh members of the team will me to a market that is very uh rich and stands on on so many pillars so permit me to just spend about one minute to uh quickly recognize the CEO of the cscs PLC Mr uh Haron aelo waziri thank you very much the cscs is very critical ensuring that the market process runs very well Mrs ojer who the director NGS group as well these are men and women who will be are part of the market ecosystem Mrs M Bell Ola director NGS group Adam thank you very much for being here as as aala director at the ngx thank you very much part of the team uh Mr Sam onuk the president of the association of shareholders sharehold uh stock Brokers houses Association Nigeria action it's on his way thank you very much uh the president uh the Mr L D who is the president and chairman of Council of CIS I guess it's also good to be here we have past presidents of the of the CIS also here thank you very much Mr Faruk Orba who is the CEO of NGS clearing Faruk thank you very much for providing those services that the market really Tony iako head of the primary Market at ngx thank you being part of the um uh Machinery that makes the system work Mr Bala abima the head of trading and products at ngx let me also say very big welcome as mentioned by Mr Dr Kanga the Adan in the market and the presidents of the various shareholders associations that are here present thank you very much from across Nigeria you've been here thank you very much Mr Bon s and the rest of you thank you very much we appreciate we would like to hear from you during this presentation we want to uh make haste with time as I said earlier so please we'll all put our hands together for Mr iuj a im the chairman of access Hing PLC to deliver the special remarks and after that oh sorry oh yes the chairman of ngx sorry sorry please uh let's have the chairman of the uh ngx that's Nigerian exchange Limited Mr Hy please good afternoon everyone you know when he started trying to introduce a I just thought that perhaps we should just let it happen because everyone is clearly eager to hear from the mul so when people like myself have to go before him then makes my job more difficult but and then have to go before him and after my group chairman whose voice compared to mine I mean you can see I'm struggling I'll learn to shout you know sometime before the end of the year it is my great pleasure and honor to have the board and management of access Holdings here with us today for their facts behind the right presentation today access Holdings PLC leverages this platform to communicate their strategic plans for Capital raise of their 17.7 billion ordinary shares of 50 c each on the basis of one new ordinary share for every two existing shares held at an issue price of 19 naira 75 Couer per share by way of a right issue today's session is pivotal particular as you remember the profound Legacy of Herbert wigway The Fearless One whose Visionary leadership alongside his fellow founder a aim has shaped not just access Holdings but inspired many including myself their audacity and commitment to Excellence has laid a foundation that continues to influence and drive our Ambitions both within and Beyond the financial sector the Journey of access Holdings is nothing short of remarkable founded as a modest Enterprise we have seen access bank transformed from a fledgling Bank in 2002 when they acquired it into a behemoth under the Visionary leadership of its Founders Ian heret impact continues to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs and established leaders alike emphasizing the audacity and strategic argument necessary to achieve greatness in any field like I said people like myself would not have de to start our own businesses from scratch in our 30s if we hadn't seen people in their early 30s late 20s do the same thing and glory to the Lord we're also making progress in that regard despite prevailing economic headwinds the Nigerian exchange Limited recognizes the concerted efforts of the board and management of access Holdings in enhancing the capital adequacy ratio of its flag of its Flagship subsidiary access bank ensuring an adequate Capital buffer that complies with Basel 3 provides a strong Foundation to withstand economic shocks to ensure business continuity and to promote investors confidence the evolution of access bank to access Holdings is a narrative of visionary leadership and strategic growth when the bank was acquired just over 20 years ago the Mandate was clear to grow the bank from its position at the end of a long list of banks they in over 70 to the top 10 within 5 years the leaders of Access Bank have achieved nothing short of this with remarkable transformation to have one of the biggest footprints in the financial sector in Africa today starting with only a handful of branches in Nigeria at the time to presence in 15 African countries today including Angola Botswana Cameroon Democratic Republic of Congo Gambia Ghana Guinea Kenya mosambik Rwanda seron South Africa and Zambia to mention a few you think I was done in addition to the UK France and the UAE the bank has consistently expanded its reach and capabilities through a series of well executed mergers and Acquisitions to now serve some 60 million customers which continues to grow the transition of access Holdings in 202022 marked a pivotal moment in this growth Story the Strategic restructuring positioned the company to capitalize on opportunities Beyond traditional banking venturing into complimentary Financial Services sectors one such example is the niche it has carved for itself in the in the technology space with several hundred Tech Investments annually one of them is the payment service provider Hydro Orin which has processed over 11 trillion naira worth of payments in 2023 alone the growing confidence by the market in the access brand shows in the financial performance of the group which reported a year-on-year increase in pre-tax profits of 335 to 729 billion NAA in 2023 and an 87% growth in Gross earnings to 2.59 trillion as well as strong shareholder returns with a one n cou dividend for 2023 which is a 28% increase from the preceding year the details of this significant offer must also be situated however within the broader framework of Nigeria's evolving Financial landscape with the recent recapitalization by the Central Bank of Nigeria which is aimed at bolstering the resilience and stability of our financial institutions in order to support the much needed growth trajectory of our dear Nigerian economy in supporting Banks through this pivotal time we at ngx pride ourselves in our ability to offer a secure and efficient platform for Capital formation and liquidity in their Capital raising efforts to meet this regulatory requirements and sustained growth this year ngx has facilitated needed financing of over 5.7 trillion naira in capital raised by governments and corporates across various asset classes this is a testament to our our commitment to driving sustainable products and responsible investment in a market that is orderly and transparent leveraging cutting AED technology we believe that it is our responsibility to strategically position ourselves to support the growth of our stakeholders the Nigerian Capital Market has also demonstrated remarkable resilience with impressive performance indicators underscoring its strength and sustainability all despite domestic and global economic uncertainties in 2023 the Nigeria Capital Market achieved unprecedented performance with the all share index reaching record highs of over 74,000 basis points for the first time since the Inception of the exchange the market also sold to a 39.845060 environments that I urge access Holdings and indeed all issuers to continue leveraging the mirrior benefits of listing on the ngx which include enhanced access to Capital an elevated Global profile improved liquidity all of which are crucial for sustainable growth and competitiveness in today's Financial landscape ngx remains committed to providing an efficient and transparent platform that supports the Strategic objectives of our listed companies the rights issue being presented today is a prime example of how businesses can utilize our markets to achieve their financial goals and strengthen their Market position I would like to end by commending once again the leadership of access holding PLC for their bold and Visionary leadership their contribution to the Nigerian financial sector the larg and African banking sector and indeed our Global Community for their continued Pursuits of Excellence I look forward to today's engagement being insightful and productive fostering transparency and encouraging robust participation in your right issue I encourage all present here to engage actively in this session as it represents an important opportunity for Access Holdings to communicate directly with the market thank you for your attention I look forward to these discussions and an Illuminating promising future for Access Holdings thank you thank you well delivered on behalf of um ngx and the uh visiting listed Asia uh that's access holding BLC thank you Mr um let me Al just sneak in one of the other pillars on which the Nigerian exchange stands is the NGS regulation please welcome mran the CEO Shan thank you very much for ad Miss face there earlier and Gabriela the acting CEO of the ngx real estate Mr thank you very much let me say a very big thank you also for coming to this briefing the former chairman of Coronation menion Bank who's an on exec director at access Mr abaka jimal thank you very much we we appreciate now we've got to listen to the man I've listened to for in the market for my entire career as a business journalist was sometimes very so difficult to find to interview you know because he has so much to say he's a man of many parts but today he's standing here representing one of the largest and the strongest financial institution within the federal republic of Nigeria and not only Nigeria but also across the African continent please welcome Mr I simply thank you bson um I don't know where to start I've been I've been trying to remember when we bought this chairs the chair the chairman the NX group the chair of the exchange itself the group CEO of the ngx group other directors and principal officers who are here esteem shareholders of access Holdings respected Partners eminent personalities of the media who have been so kind to access Holdings and our ecosystem over the years distinguished ladies and gentlemen so you will permit me even though it sounds corny that I get nostalgic when I stand on this Podium but it's very very true um it's a Podium that I've have been privileged to stand in front of on several locations in fact actually let me tell you something at the time that I first presented in this room there was no Podium we just used to stand here I don't know if you guys remember um but despite the many opportunities to stand like this I have always remained very humble when I do so for two reasons the Nigerian Stock Exchange now the ngx group represents in many ways things that do not stand very very obvious in our country today the men and women who established this exchange it's supporting institutions and there's no it's not a coincidence that the central c bank is just next door they built this country they financed the roads and bridges the institutions that you see around including that that we are coming to the market to sell his shares access Holdings as a result of their efforts and I applaud them and I find it a great privilege that this Market chose access bank and now access Holdings as is darling even in 2002 when we had very little I always joke that our foreign currency balances at the time were less than aliko dang's credit card limit I recall vividly our first presentation as access bank in this room and then my brother and partner Herbert wigu was alongside me today 22 years we are presenting as a team missing one of us one of the Musketeers but I want to thank you as a market for standing beside and behind us when we buried a Titan of African Finance I want to thank you for your visits I want to thank you for your love I want to thank you for your support today we have convened this access Holdings facts behind the rights event and I think it's a very significant milestone in the access Holdings rights issue process it is an event that is being hosted and facilitated by the Nigerian exchange and for 25 years and I say 25 years even though remember that we joined the access bank family in 2002 so 22 years ago access bank was listed on the stock market in 1998 or thereabout and without actually the platform of this Market we would not have had the opportunity to enter don't ask me today how but you know and so it tells you that the ngx enables entrepreneurs dreamers Visionaries and for those who have turned them into institutions to connect with shareholders people who will invest in them who will bet on them based on their understanding of the strategies of the companies that are listed on the market and the understanding of the performance of those businesses the ngx don't take this for granted because I am a part of that process I'm part of the ngx has played a role in transforming governance in corporate Nigeria and that transformation is why when you go to the market and you have a fact behind the figures of facts behind the offer or facts behind the rights is basically trying to ensure that all issuers don't just tell a story of numbers they tell the story behind the numbers which are more important than the numbers itself so our rights issue is yes a financial exercise but it's actually a continuation of that access bank story if I was was given the opportunity to theme our Capital Market raising exercises you know what I'll call it I will call them Promises Kept in 2002 the promise was in 5 years time we would go from 70 to 10 I believe the promise was kept in 2007 the promise was we would go from 10 top 10 to top five that ended in 2012 I thank God that as I retired in 2013 we were number four I think that's a promise kept and as I retired I helped my partner and brother Herbert tell the market what Herbert was shy to say that in 5 years time 2012 at 5 years no 20 202 2013 right in five years time it will be top three so 2018 top three and so Herbert in 2018 announced that in 5 years time it will be top one and by 2022 so it was Promises Kept so B and Rosevelt will be talking about promises they intend to keep and I have worked with them literally all their professional careers I can assure you that even if as I was every time I made a promise and Herbert was every time he made a promise they're a bit nervous bit concerned as every leader or group of leaders should be the difference is that they are actually better trained more capable more tested than we were when we made our promises so I can go to sleep on your promises as you know we will be offering approximately 17.7 billion shares at a price of 19 n75 Cobo simply put the rights issue is a precursor to a number of other financings that we'll be doing to support our Consolidated expansion process you may ask the question when you are the largest bank in Nigeria and one of the largest banks in Africa where do you go from here Rosevelt and bologi are going to be talking about making history because our next phase of growth anyway that's not my job is their but I can tell you that today's ceremony speaks to our Collective resolve as boards that's the board of the holding company the boards of the subsidiaries of course including the banking group to support this phenomenal set of talent whether in management or officers on the shop floor that we've been privileged to govern at access bank and access Holdings and to give them every support to realize the dream of an African to prove to the world that in Africa from Africa can be people who will be global leaders and so our vision is now global very very Global I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our financial advisers our legal councel our stock Brokers our Auditors and registers whose expertise and dedication Have Been instrumental in bringing us to this point I leave my last comments for our shareholders we did a rights and a rights alone to signal to the world that that pact between us can never be broken since 2002 you have stood with us thick and thin we could have added all types of things placing forign this and that but we said no no no no no no the first step will be the step that was taken in 2002 with people like you and I know that you will come and stand with us again please take up your rights and ensure that our promised kept story continues to run and run God bless you all thank you you so much thank you thank you I uh the the chairman of access Holdings PLC uh I think the presentation and and events is uh over by now and simply because I was hearing yes yes yes from along all the shareholders so I'm sure there'll be no Q&A session that SES me some time because all my elders and the big men and women have said yes it's a thank you offer by the way so it's just a right issue it's a thank you offer from a company to uh the shareholders but let's get more granular details of what the numbers look like and how they all pile up uh for the investors so I'm inviting Mr Rosevelt to go to the managing director access bank PLC to leave the facts behind the right issue of access Holdings plc good afternoon I'll stand on very well established protocols and thank you very much for joining us today in the facts behind the rights I think before I start I would like to share what today has evolved to be the corporate philosophy of the whole company it's important we get context and I think our vision speaks to what we do why we do it and the how we do it so what's the vision today is to create a globally connected community and ecosystem inspired by Africa for the world I mentioned that our view and our vision is now global if were ever in doubt as to what that meant the last few months last few years I in caution into new markets the reception that we received in all of those markets clearly suggests to us that the world is waiting for a true African Champion that is playing on the global stage and that's what we are always going to be I just share one of our values and that's curiosity and the way we think about it is that we never stop questioning so yes we always be that institution that gets into trouble because we're pushing the boundaries we're looking for new ways to do things we're selling Africa to the rest of the world and that's what guides what we do the three principles that embed our view of the world the first is that we want to be Africa's gateway to the world the second is that we want to be the world's most respected African bank and the third and I think most importantly anchoring from what a says is that we want to be Africa's or the the world's first truly African Global brand in the financial services sector question is what does all of this mean they sound like buzz words Africa's gateway to the world it's very simple we want to we want to power trade and payments across the continent we want to be that platform that connects the African continent to itself and catalyze capital and business we're very selective in the markets that we're going to and we are chasing the money it's not a return on ego we're focused on where the money is if you look at the African continent and you were to split it from an economic power perspective where the real banking profit is it's in southern Africa followed by East Africa then North Africa West Africa then central Africa I know that a lot of people think that we make so much money in West Africa the reality is that with the capital that we have in this part of the world if we move it to West or to south or east Africa it will be a lot more profitable we're following the money we in every Market in South southern Africa today ex Zimbabwe and leoto when every Market in East Africa today except South Sudan and Ethiopia and so we're driven by the principles of creating value and that's been what has parted the institution over the last two decades our story is one that is very well told I talked about 2002 I guess I is now so successful to forget the reception we received here in 2002 the analyst Community actually laughed at us because here was a tiny Bank 65 out of 89 and you sharing with the market that in 5 years you are going to be a top 10 Bank it was difficult for anyone to contemplate what that meant and let me tell you what made it worse if we had stopped at just saying top 10 maybe they would have tolerated us and I think a question was asked to a and which are the banks you Benchmark yourself against and I started talking about HSBC JP Morgan City Bank and I think for a lot of people that came across as being what's the word now ignorant a pipe dream for for for for most but I think 20 years on WE validated our talk with the actions and the delivery that we made that story would not have been possible without the platform that the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the ngx today has given to us we have been repeat issuers in this market we've gotten significant support from our shareholders through through thick and thin anytime we've come there'll be apprehensions as usual with the Market take it with our shareholders supporters I mean a lot of those doubts are evaporated at the egms or agms where we go and seek approval we get support significant support from our shareholders overwhelming support pushing us and driving us to go letting us know that they are fully fully behind us this time was no different so thank you our shareholders who continue to support us in that Quest I know that the conversation is not just to be about romantic words I also have to share numbers today we are the largest bank in our Market by mile today we're one of the top 10 banks in the African continent today we are the largest bank in Africa from a retail customer base and I think that deserves a round of applause we have what 60 million customers and as we like to say internally we have a nation if access bank was a country we would be one of the largest 10 countries in the African continent a lot of the successes that we've had as an institution has been built on strong governance we have a very strong board at the holding company level led by Mr a a we have very seasoned board members who have guided The Narrative and the Eng engagement between the institution and his large stakeholder group I think one thing we don't get enough credit for is how much resilience we have built in our business there's a lot of talk around Financial Capital but for the kind of business we do what truly Powers the financial Capital to make it work is a human capital that we've invested so much in from 2002 uh to date we have a very strong and robust bench strength if you're in doubt let's just go through some Memory Lane I and Herbert ran the bank from 2002 until I left in 2013 I remember there's a lot of conversation in the Market at the time how would Herbert survive without his partner in the bank and how would the bank Thrive without the the partnership of the DU as as well as they were called at the time interestingly a left and truly provided only prayers to the rest of the institution he allowed Herbert run his team I left with his entire executive team we started pretty much with Herbert and a new team running the institution at the time I left as he said we were number five and that seemed like a lot had happened Herbert with his new team team took the bank from number five to number one it's not usual that you have in a market that Partnerships work in a market that you can see Transitions and when they happen that success continues 's greatest joy as he shares on many platform is to see that after the in after he left the institution well in a management capacity I must say that the institution has continued to thrive the new team no pressure bologi I don't know if we have a partnership but yes but it's a new team and that team remains committed to the vision that overpowering Vision that really drives what we do at access is beyond making money that's not the story about access bank it's about impact and I think that drive for impact then means that we do what we need to do to build the muscle and the financial capital and platform to enable us make the impact on a much larger scale our business is built on three pillars people Planet profit we remain a very responsible Bank we ensure that from a people perspective we're making an impact in the markets and the communities that we serve we we are not here for the short term like every business and every financial institution we live our lives in quarters just so happens that in our view a quarter is 25 years so we're here for the long term it's not about making money in the shortterm it's not about showing fantastic results as a result of Foreign Exchange gains we ensure we build real value we ensure that the business that we do serves the market and commun commities that we operate in we are the largest lender in the market largest deposit Taker and I think the conversation would have been a bit narrow if it was just in Nigeria across the 14 markets we operate in in the continent 10 of them were either number one we're either we're top five in 10 of them in the other four or five ex South Africa by 2027 will be a top five Bank so in some sense we are not local Champions we're the third largest bank in Zambia fact post the closing of our Standard Charter transaction we be the third largest bank in seralon third largest bank in The Gambia where today post our transaction in Kenya will be the largest TI two bank at about number 14 12 or 14 in Botswana we're number five in Mambi where number six and in each of these markets we are a local competitor the numbers from last year suggest that we continue to be the largest bank in our markets to be to be honest and I'm not sure if I should share this we don't wake up every day in as a management team and the first thing we think about is how we beat a Nigerian bank that really is not what drives us anymore it's about the impact we can make in the continent and how can we through the many networks that we're building help cataliz growth make the right impact on the continent and of course return significant um profits to our shareholders today we are the largest deposit taking Bank in our Market as at end of December of 2023 we had what's about 15.3 trillion largest lender in our Market with about 8.9 trillion largest total asset with about 27 trillion as at q1 for anyone who's B to look at our reports we grew 32% between q1 and December last year and closed at about 32.5 trillion the institution sustainable growth rate is not of 30 we are the fastest growing Bank in the continent fact over the course of the last 10 years and this is what we've shared in all our analyst uh reviews we have been in an investment mode and what does that entail it's meant that we've gone to New Markets we made investment in scale infrastructure technology waiting for the day that the payoff will happen I think where we are today is that we are transiting from that investment mode to a consolidation mode from a shareholder perspective what does that mean now maybe I back take one step back you know in business school we are told that any business that doesn't have positive MPV projects that they should return the money to shareholders so whilst we celebrate those who pay big dividends understand the signal that that means it means they have zero positive MPV projects we've been in an investment mode and we have clearly made the bets that we want across the continent today we are the largest African Bank in the UK our UK business our UK and our international business have had many firsts first African Bank going to Malta and that is meant to support our trade business across the the world in Malta we will have a booking office for trade now you know when you're growing up in banking you hear that City Bank has a booking office in Ireland deutche bank has a booking office somewhere uh Commerce Bank has a booking office in London those are the kind of conversations we have today so we will have our own booking office for trade in Malta access UK is also the first African Bank in Hong Kong it took us four years took us four years through covid Hong Kong riots but we got there in the end so today our international business means that we can clear ourselves in GBP across any platform both cash and instruments our Paris and multi business means for euros we can clear ourselves both cash and instruments I guess big elephant is in the room is what about USD because dollar is still the most convertible currency and trade is done mostly in dollars I don't need to say much but you have to know that access us is coming we've been fortunate under Herbert's leadership to evolve from what was a narrow banking license into a holding company structure a lot of people are always curious as to what is it that the holding company does and how is it not possible that you could embed all of this within the financial services business that you have grown the holding company gives us significant optional it means that we can compete in markets that are not traditionally financed and that we can get into Partnerships that can create significant value for the ecosystems and the platforms that we create so today Beyond banking we have access pension which is the second largest pension administrator in our Market we have our payment and our fintech business which has own switch has a card management processing system for the scale of the retail Enterprise that we're building we cannot take chances by leaving that in the hands of third parties I think what's most important is that that business has grown so significantly that today it doesn't only just Bank access but does so for seven or eight Nigerian Banks where it provides services access uh hydrogen as we referred to it is one of the largest switching companies in the Nigerian Financial Services System today and it hasn't really started so you can imagine as IM matures with investment capital and the strategy direction that the board is driving hydrogen with what exactly it is that that business would do in the next few years we have a consumer lending business continues to grow small startup um but a huge future in that business we're going to build several ecosystem that operate on the platform so things like Mobility things around housing ecosystem I see there's a lot of interest in this so maybe I shouldn't say too much so people don't but we're very excited as to what the future holds the bank and the will be the core of the financial services holding company that we're building and the optionality that the verticals under the holding company gives to us is that it means that we can create significant value for the larger stakeholder group The verticals are starting in Nigeria but they're going to be rolled out across several markets where we are dominant so several of these businesses will roll out behind the bank across the African continent starting with Southern Africa East Africa and then of course West Africa as I said we follow the money by 2027 we have a huge aspiration for our institution it's not possible for us to compete on a global scale without having to Benchmark ourselves to the very best in the world a lot of people question maybe not question inquisitive about why we've pursued an m&a strategy and and it's formed the thrust for a lot of the growth that we've seen I think the story that is not being told is that beyond the m&a which usually is the headline there's grunt organic growth that happens underneath all of those works I'll give you two examples to illustrate this access Zambia in 2018 used to do a profit of what is about 400 million NAA uh monthly we acquired a small bank called cavant integrated the bank we mov from what is about 400 million in profit monthly to about 1.2 billion in in profit monthly roll forward a few years after we acquired another bank in Zambia called Bank ABC and our budget for this year is no longer in local currency terms we now reference all our subsidiary Investments and returns in USD access Zambia in 2024 would do $76 million so think about it this is a business four years ago or six years ago that was doing $400 million in profit on an annual basis less than 5 billion that same business is going to do about a 100 billion in profit 6 years after that has come through from the organic growth and the discipline that we've instilled in the way we run our business the business model we execute across the continent is a very simple business model and it looks complicated because you hear there's access Ghana access this access but what exactly is it that we do there it's payments there's no risk you just need a platform a platform that works a network that is transparent and a connectivity that customers can rely on there's trade leveraging access UK I'll tell you a secret with the International Banks pulling out of the continent and not operating in several parts of the of the African continent Access Bank UK today is one of the largest correspondent banks in Africa we have the largest Cor respondent banking business for trade in Nigeria today as we speak so every every Nigerian Bank you see is a correspondent has a correspondent banking relationship with access UK except one I'll leave you to guess who that one is Thea ultimately is that when we support trade payments we drive what we refer to as our One Bank names the global names for which there about 400 in the continent we will be able to catalyze growth that business or that strategy is one that has been waiting for someone with the discipline to be able to do it the challenge has always been for you to execute the strategy you have to be significant firstly in your home market and then you have to be significant in every Market that you play in in Access Bank we don't manage fear we manage risk and we've shown that we're very good at managing risk risk from our core operations risk from integration and acquisition and the m&a strategy that we pursue I know there are many banks who would like to be like us even if they don't admit it publicly we've demonstrated that we know what it takes to grow scale and do it efficiently and do it in a manner that shareholder value is retained and that ultimately it is a creative we have finished or we are near finishing the phase of investment and growth as I said we are entering from first quarter second quarter of 2025 we are now consolidating for the future for shareholders it just means that since we don't have too many MPV projects left that will be more dividend payment or payout to our shareholders I think we've taken our time to bake the pie where we are now is time to eat the pie by 2027 we will have a customer base of 125 million we say we've defined find active customers as those who transact with us daily and the ambition we're pushing is that 50 million of our customers will transact with us daily on all our platforms now they don't necessarily have to do banking business they just have to do it on one of our ecosystem partners and the platform that we're creating one in three transactions in the continent will be done on an access related platform or a platform that we've gone into partnership with counterparties about two months ago you'd have heard of our partnership put in PESA we're not ashamed to learn and we're not ashamed to learn from people who have done it well so in markets like Kenya we're working in pessa to understand what they do but I think given the scale that we've built Beyond East Africa we will grow across the continent together you would have seen about four or five weeks ago we got into a partnership with MasterCard and what that partnership does for us today is that we can innovate and build on the MasterCard platform anywhere in the world to support payments and we're about to close the same thing with AMX so from a payment perspective we want to build the railroad across the continent so that anyone who looks at the continent and wants to do business here sees us as that preferred partner to work with capital adequacy because we're regulated institution we remain north of 20 Roe north of 20 and ultimately the very elusive number one in kpmd service rating we hope to conquer by 2027 I think our is a value story but it's also a growth story I said that we are the fastest growing Bank in the continent but we're also not an unknown entity we're not an unknown quantity so usually fastest growing will be a growth story from a small bank or a small institution that is just coming to the market and of course they're on their uh growth trajectory until they place to and get mature and who knows what happens but we're also a value story given where our Shares are trading today we know the market might not be a perfect Market many markets are not if there's any at all but one thing we don't lie to ourselves is that we know the market processes information and the information the market has been processing for the last 10 years is one around growth now with growth an investment comes uncertainty and of course of course the market will Mark you down each time there's an m&a transaction that you do so it's no surprise as you learned in business school that if an announcement is made of an m& deal the target company's shares appreciate the company that is the acquire their shares face a bit of a of a of a a deep now imagine when you're doing that every year so we've not given the market enough time to fully appreciate the the work that we're doing going forward into the future our conversation with our shareholders and the rest of the market will be to show you the pillars that we have built there's the bank but that's not even the story because embedded in the bank is our international business that will that will compete with the likes of Odo bank because what we do is no different from what Odo Bank does in Germany and you can look at the valuation and capitalization of Odo bank and how they shareholders view Odo bank now well maybe I should leave that Odo bank is a bank that we want to go into partnership with and we see what they do and we understand that it's no different from what we do there's the African business anchored out of Ghana 15 subsidiaries today by the end of the year post the closure of all the Standard Bank Standard Chartered transactions we're doing it will be about 19 subsidiaries in the African continent that in itself is a standalone business with his own valuation and of course the Nigerian mod bank which is access PLC um which in itself is a strong bank and competing effectively in the market so beyond the banking group is hydrogen and we know what the fintech valuations are even those that are not profitable are trading at 10x 11x this is a profitable business from day one with 60 million potential customers to play with there's a consumer Lending business there's a pension business for some FIS the pension business is actually the PowerHouse and we're the second largest pension business in the market today it's not being valued anywhere in the share price that you see on the exchange so we need to let our shareholders breathe and what that will entail is our consolidation phase that we talked about as I close I'd like to share some compelling reasons why the access story remains one that shareholders should embrace as you've done for the last 20 plus years the institution has delivered on every commitment that we have made from 2002 to date I remember the first time we had that conversation and I got encouraged us to come to the floor of the exchange to share what our fiveyear strategy was and the question was why don't we keep quiet first now let's do it then we'll come back and say we've done it the challenge with that was that when you do come back the question was that who did you tell that this was what you were going to do in that case every result will be a great result because there's nobody to hold you to account so we've lived our lives in the public in the eye of the investing public and we've come each time we have a 5year strategy to share it with the market from a corporate Governor perspective so that the market and our stakeholders can hold us to account we have delivered on every promise that we have made it's interesting that we seem to forget a bit of History this was one of Herbert's favorite saying there is no Nigerian bank that was our size in 2002 that is still alive today none none so some of the banks that analy now compare us with whether you say we are now top two or top three or top five and you give you couldn't mention access next to those banks in 2002 it will be an almost an insult to those institutions today we're bigger than any one of those institutions because we've delivered on the Promises we have stated think more importantly is the governor's conversation this is not an IG story it's not a Roosevelt story it's not a Herbert story it's an access story with a vision that PS everything we do I remind you how we started I stated that our vision is to create a globally connected community and ecosystem inspired by Africa for the rest of the world and that's what we are creating thank you very much give it to Roosevelt the only promise that I would want you to make is that when the coming America happens perhaps we'll have an annual meetings in America for access bank but that was a great movie Coming to America and it would be great to have access bank at the capital of the Free World thank you very much for that very incisive briefing I love the narrative and I love the heart of it and you are preaching to the choir which was me me because I am panafrican in what I do on a daily basis and I'm sure your story also resonates with the shareholders and investors who are here because they want to have a share of where the world is looking at right now and that's the African continent let's go to Q&A session and I will prefer if um the questions are directed to either the chairman the the managing director of access bank or the group Chief uh group Financial Officer the GCF and we'll take it in very quick s session so that we save time I'm not expecting any questions just some remarks and if um uh here we go let ladies go first we'll just take three questions and then uh please let's uh let the lady have the if you don't mind yes our protoc oberved my name is Mrs B at ABC a chairholder of course as a chairholder I believe that uh assess holding uh holding uh decision to execute a right offer is time and we appreciate asset holding for that and of course I have a lot of question before but listening to my able MD of the bank all my questions has been already answered by him take a take a bow Take a Bow Ros Take a Bow Madam thank you very much because that was a very good presentation and again looking at ass Holdings even without you saying it even we shareholders were aware that assess Holdings assess from assets Bank to assets holding is a company of fulfilling promises you have been telling us that like you said as young as I am I'm just 18 years we have been following you you told us in 2022 too that in 5 years you be here and you are there and secondly I could remember vividly in that day in those days if assets Bank check was given to you you have to sleep and look at where you can get asset bank branch because even in the whole uh island or Mainland maybe you will see only one assess band Branch but today anywhere you go you are like MTN yes I'm very serious about it the second name of asset Bank asset holding supposed to be MN because anywhere you go you find them having said that I just want to ask one question and the question is as of today our share price is uh 19 NAA 30 something Cobo and 35 Cobo and this offer is 19 na 75 Cobo why is this so we would like to know before I will drop the microphone also I just want to tell you that as a shareholders of the year for two consec Ive years Mrs bakary is the chairholder of the year for two consecutive years I want to give us give assets holding Assurance even despite the share price or whatever that we are going to take our rights I'm giving you the Assurance because for you to come out with 17.77% us and we are going to give you the assurance and we are going to take off of our offer once again thank you very much for the opportunity given to me CH I would have been surprised if you didn't mention the prize you know you know what I mean but all those things you talked about happened 18 years ago and you just 18 okay now you get it okay thank you very much Mr chairman board of directors here present our friend our caterpillar Ike who we always call AIG by then anywhere we saw him we have confidence in our investment I with Ike he's still AIG I'm with ik for the past 23 years now my name is Kabir Abdullah tambari shareholder from s State I just want to start with my sister where she mentioned the share price for Access today the shares today closed 19 na 35 Kobo it lost 25 K and I can't go for question I have confidence for Access I started buying shares of access at 65 C and that time now when access took over diamond access is not only with uh with diamond also together with former lion bank imp PL two State because I remember Diamond Bank aquire lion bank so almost everywhere is access bank what I just want to call the attention of my colleague and investors although I in the investment house is about the shares we invested what we just need is one capital appreciation any person invested his money direct or indirect he need capital appreciation and dividend and access is always paying us dividend up to the time started paying intering dividend and our shares as at January 18 2024 this year access bank shares January 18 yes correct 13 it touched 1 70 I have the record I'm always watching access so that's why by God willing I have confidence this right issue of 19 N 75 Cobo is like bonus price to us it's part of capital appreciation by God willing what we will just do now we can be patient as how you mentioned earlier the MD is not a quick investment that we just invest now we are looking for uh capital appreciation and dividend we have to be patient not only access bank any investment need patient because without patient we can't be here where we are now in my life Kobo Cobo price of shares touch up to 30 so how about uh sorry may his soul rest in perfect peace and Ike you are Ike now you are Hab we know you together I'm with I I'm with Hab even some time before he demise he went to my state we are together as a friend always he called me I'm not I don't know even he's in town he just quickly called that's what I even saying even the time he demise even this morning I talk with the company secretary about this issue so we don't have anything to say no one can question God may his s right in perfect peace habot has confidence in this Bank he take this bank to go great high and we still ring his sweating time he's always moving around to see where access move but no one can question God may his soul rest in perfect peace by God willing we are going to take our rights what I just want to call my friend our chairman Ike we don't want you know now no share No share certificate so the moment allotment is out the shares will be credited to the cscs we don't want the shares to be ploting on the flow then our shares will started crashing that is what I just want to call the attention after the right issue when they announc the allotment the shares credited to the respective shareholders then we can started seeing our shares coming down for this price of today 19 35 Cobo I won mind with it because that is how Market is Market is always moving up moving coming down so by God willing we are going to succeed this 13 era I pray God Almighty before end of this year or next year it will pass 14 ER thank you and God bless you've made so much money you bought at 65 then you saw the stock at 30 then you have 19 then you're looking I like you all right my here Bonny face I believe strongly not asking much question that the assets Bank have all it takes to get a good return to investors who are investing today because offer already open I believe strongly that 19 n 25 Kobo is also a bonanza to existing shareholders the holding company have taken shareholders along like was the bank when we were in the bank we also approve to trans into H compaign the most important thing is Corporate governance and institutions and carring the stakeholders along in any decision you take you must carry them along and that is what Spain out fores today as a group no matter you are R shareholder one unit you're a shareholder you also equal like somebody holding millions or billions yearses all of you are par there's no difference no segregation and that's what's going for these institutions and everybody that have invested here since Inception have re B in terms of the turns but I want to challenge the acting of hok because our divid now come through the H the bank is a subsidiary but that's the make cow that are producing the milk to the group without the bank you can't talk about the group but we have also other branches not the bank alone bank is no more Ono oper now to you know we have other companies springing up like hydrogen which is um a kind of like what you have nibs today I don't I don't know why they have not even taken over from nips because that's is a platform that delay payment so hydrogen should have been taken that space and providing for all the banks today in payment platform seamlessly that's how you should have been and F Tech is also a lot of company are springing up from that group and I believe strongly that shareholder will R bondly in terms of dividend I want to assure shareholders who have kept faith that when you say asset success and assets have been success all the way even since ik left 11 years ago and now back as a chairman and I believe in that trajectory he piloted aair as a group MD then that Zeal is still there that fire is still burning in him he's not yet tired he not Idol chairman he a man who goes all there and there make sure that the bank still remain on top we can't talk about group and forget about the bank and rosov have shown that is our gift to the nations from ABIA State they play last we always there he have talk all his grammar but he's talk and do he's a performer don't mind his be he's a young man but you know I'm older than him I'm not growing beers but he's growing beer that type of work he's doing so rosov it a l is on your shoulder to deliver to the group so that we can have a bumper dividend to go yes is because you have time to shave because you the one making the money he's working for you so he hasn't had time to shave yeah so so so he's working very hard thank you he hasn't had time sh thank you from State please give Mr a round of applause thank you thank you thank you thank you do very well thank you so Mr chairman assets have a policy okay ratio pay out because about those band that pay higher dividend you paid us 180 this year and I'm spting that a lot of u v have talking to me that our interim dividing this year will not be 30 cble it must be 50 cble after this offer I'm telling you that's why yeah even more that's why I'm going to judge you your performance a lot of people will take their offer their right issue is over subscrib they will take it but you must start interim dividend that is a St tax I'm giving you to deliver to the group H if you're seing 50 Kobo will be happy and people will know yes assess keeping to their Awards I'm challenging you honestly we not going to take 30o interim or 40 we're not going to take it that's the truth I know the money would be deployed the money because we invested a lot yeah dividing are given to us we because you're making investment and we're seeing it those Investments are begin to cize we speak today you have invested a lot in Africa in our Asian country who have have branches this is time to reward investors locally the shareholder who are received providers this is time to to pay them handsome dividend so if you are selling at almost 20 NRA and I believe like somebody said by the end of the next year we seen era price of these stocks yeah pleas thank you thank you very much please give me a round of applause thank you thank you very much thank you um very quickly would you want to take of commendations and all that except uh from um um yes there will be yes there will be a second round of uh questions uh take a few more okay okay okay one or two more okay Mr Wu please yes pleas thank you very much when I heard about I'm sorry that I'm sitting down you know it's because of my challenge when I heard about these FS behind the figure I've not been attending other fat behind the figures but I decided to warm up myself and come to this fat behind the figure because I have my brother there Ike who is in control and I needed to see his face and another directors so your presentation the presentation we have watched today speaks for itself all the presentation speaks for itself but I want to share with to that the interim dividend that will be paid must be higher and very enticing and make us happier that we are standing by promises we have had about eight promises from the direction of the presentation and we we we have not been sad about it therefore we must continue to be happy that intering dividend is coming because I for one and others need a lot of money for care you know and therefore we need and another thing is that you see this is just about the season that you now while right issue is going on and the shares is being traded on in my 52 years in the Capital Market I what usually happen is that once there's a ride there will be a suspension on the technical suspension so we appealing to you that once this right is completed send out the whole thing and let us be able to take the benefit of the market because that's why it derails the movement of the shares once you push out everything or when there's no technical suspension so we want to have our certificate or whatever cscs I'm sure jallo is here himself he's very apt and he will do the need for to make sure that we're entitled to whatever we have paid for apart from that I'm assuring you and I'm pleading with shareholders here that we should support asset bank if nothing else in sympathy with the loss of habat we should give that support to them to show that fully that we are paying condolence to asset bank because that's a very painful thing that pained all of us why we were here we said if ass if habat had been alive he'd been moving here and there to greet everybody here but however I is taking the position so therefore let us be happy that we are participating in this bank and I want to remember when they first came up we have a shareholder who said assets Bank asset success although he's not here now we want to live on that success and continue to enjoy our investment in ass bank and the directors must take right decision when they are deciding even though directors are giving their own money like me I am a director too I earn my own money but this time around I am pleading that directors should look at all these things sincerely and make sure that shareholders are happy because they are the providers of the seed money that we are talking about so on that note I want to welcome to this hot position and I want to say again that you are lucky you have a man by your side who will help you to cool down the tension you the roet I know rosette I know used to be the president of one of the president of America but this one is growing beers because of tension and all this and that I believe strongly that you will do all the two of you will do the need for and make sure that you enrich the group company with good profit so that you'll be happy in paying out whatever you want to pay um please you will have over subscription that is very clear we will support you all the shareholders will support you if no nobody is giving the undertaking me I am giving the undertaking that I will support I of course I have a Doan sitting there and there's a Doan speaking now there's different the different there is that this building I happen to be the one who built this building with B's father so I am happy coming home to this building you know and the success of this building will Aid the success of assets Bank to be successful in Jesus name thank you I thank you very much for the opportunity s it's good that you're among men who are shaved CU you're um you find Once Roosevelt keeps his own promise like a has kept then he will be shaven C shaven like I is the chairman so uh he has more Promises to Keep and he's listening let's listen to IM for a few uh reactions and then we move on with the event thank you very much thought you say you you would take me I think we are we are sorry we are you mind chairman take one more just just a minute just a minute I want to take the permission of the exchange sir you know the you may not no this but the issue has to pay for this is our rent still current or it's okay sir but only one person all is that voice yes I think it's not our yes thank thank you for this opportunity uh first I can assure you that my questions if any will not be as long as the four earlier speakers uh because they belong to political parties and they also learned how to speak politically even in business uh environment uh first let me also to say that my first major contact with asses Bank was in their efforts an attempt to acquire AF bank and I took time to understand all that they had intended in that meeting that eventually did not hold in pter court but for today I want to thank um rosabel for talking about his organization because very many times when people come in here uh they want to talk about things they don't even know uh so I want to thank you however since you have also come to this community I know that your intention is to make sure that this offer is successful uh because it's a right issue uh by the way three persons before me have promised that he will be over subscribed uh so if I don't find enough money I will send my application form to them so they will pay I will be hoping that you will also give give us the opportunity to be able to deliver to a lesser extent the presentation that you have made and I I'll be hoping that there'll be something that we can all take away basically as reference that's the first request I'll be asking the second one which will be much more like a question has to do with the issue of being Global and looking at the prospectives that I got because the offered open already uh you are talking about Branch expansion and I think that you have been narrow in the way it was presented in the perspectives you talked about Lagos poo and Abuja but your presentation speaks Beyond those three locations so I also be hoping that uh you you give a you give some education as to why it was deliberate that what you have in the prospectus is limited to those two locations because today's price is basically for tomorrow benefit uh when I saw the acting group amd's full name I started asking question uh apologies to another bology that is here bology I'm told means that uh the money day when before you come okay when you then looked at he said the money go finish uh all of it again summarizes what shareholders will be expecting uh not only that the money day uh what you'll be paying again will never finish and it's in that regards that we hoping that one major area that you must continually make sure that you do uh because I've heard all uh son who talked about 52 years unfortunately some of us were here before he came so I don't know how long I've stayed is to say You must continually Engage The investing public because the more you do the more you are going to get the different parts of all no two three four investors are the same but the more you're able to aggregate those different perspective and Views the chances are high uh that you'll be able to do far better than what your contemporaries can do uh even if you didn't get afre Bank I'm sure you've gotten far more of what afre bank will have been worth uh in the life of the bank so again I want to thank this management but please remember in thanking you it means that I'm also expecting that you do far better than you have done currently and some of us will be there to support you as well thank you very much thank you very much Mr I will allow the chairman to take thank you uh but there's a man here whose hand has been up first non just said that we should be make sure that we continue consultations yes and we all say yes yes so he must talk you protested as the youngest shareholder I'm test my name is the youngest shareholder as he said so you alluded to the fact that assets assets bank is now the top one promise kept and we are looking at maybe loans and advances or Branch Network we should be to one in other metric other parameters like dividend payment like you have a bank in Nigeria that paying three over 300 dividend we should also top it off to be to be that top one top top one thank you then also in your presentation Mr MD you shared your vision vision of the bank vision of the group in three subset that I was able to write down you said to create a global community of ecosystem to be Africa's gateway to the world to be the world's first only African global bank what are the s in place to work this talk then then hello I have the mic please so then uh I want to know the percentage of the fund we are expecting that is to be distributed as follows number one in our human capital skill development then it infrastructure to enhance our efficiency and to also uh enhance customer experience so that we can Ser our customers faster and also on internal control financial report thank you so much for the opportunity thank you very much for so both so that in the interest of time let's let's yes you just didn't mention what to be distributed to the youth development unit of the bank but but that's okay that they'll be taking okay um thank you very much for your questions um there are some questions that maybe I would direct to Rosevelt and bology but the the um theme that characterized all the questions was around this issue of share price um and I you know I infer from that the shareholder return perspective and the other theme was the issue of dividends okay now I'm no longer a manager of businesses like you I'm an owner of businesses of course and there are certain things I look at when I I am either invested in a business or I'm interested in a business to invest in if a business is on an earnings run rate annual of the amount I put into the business once I must I must eat there it and do you know that access because if you look at the earnings profile of Access Bank project it just project it okay and project it in NRA don't even assume any other anyway because the r doesn't like to count devaluation profit if there's more devaluation the thing will can double or triple the earnings forecast not in the I you do this analysis is about 17 n a share how much are you paying for it 1975 17 annually now this is not a bank that needs further reinvestment to make that money so it's not going to be seeking additional Capital all right that would dilute those earnings so the reality is this and why we did a right issue is that it would be so sad if you guys have gotten us so far stayed with us through the thick and thin through the times of investing through the you know Blood Sweat and Tears okay and then this uh money making machine is about to start dropping money and then you don't no don't make that mistake don't make that mistake okay now again in the presentation in 2002 before just before we we came into um access bank you know you remember where we used to work all of us here we used to work in one of the most profitable banks in Nigeria correct it had been one of the most profitable banks in Nigeria for 10 years run Runway okay so it had been one of Nigeria's three most profitable banks for 10 years now access bank as you well know was not counted so it's interesting that not only did we we came 10 years after here okay to access bank we pursued overtake now we're recovering we're recovering then you don't want to no you have to give us okay thank you okay and so there is a natural adjustment and risk management also then tells us that there should be a discipline in what we do it's not to say that we couldn't open the coffers and Stu but it would actually seem strange to you it would seem strange to an analyst what are we doing you know how you know you have to get to the point where you consolidate and when you cons consolidate you can then begin to really really sweat you know the assets that you've created that is the phase that Rosevelt alluded to that we're in the phase of consolidation and um honestly shareholders in Access Bank who are able to buy shares now whether by way of Rights or on the floor honestly speaking you are going to be okay I think um ruselt the other so so thank you Ike for that uh intro so to be instructive to just share I don't know how much time we have to tell this story but it's one we have to not be tired of telling and thank you Nona for for that uh uh stare so let me paint a scenario so I said we are not local Champions and I want to just give you a sense so many years ago many Nigerian Banks all following soludo's uh um consolidation and the drive for us to exp expand beyond our Market we all wanted to prove a point that we could do business Beyond Nigeria so we went to the UK which is if you wanted to prove that you've arrived as a bank you go there we came maybe a year or two years after every other bank had gone every new generation bank and in that market you compete based on value and the only reason you win is not who you know cuz who do we know we don't know the Prime Minister I think today we at the largest African Bank in the UK fact we're the most profitable African Bank in the UK now the question is what does it have to do with shareholders why is this an important conversation all our earnings in the UK are dollarized so it means every time there's a devaluation our UK business continues to grow so we've created a natural hedge now let me tell you what's more interesting we did it at the time when naira dollar was less than 200 so we've invested in all of our African subsidiaries and our International subsidiaries today 1.2 billion in dollar terms which on the books is being carried at 364 billion na so maybe I say it again we invested 1.2 billion in the books of the bank the value of those assets is worth 300 plus billion now adjust it for real terms and understand that any Bank who says today this is the game we want to play they need to spend about 1.8 billion to be able to do 1.8 trillion I beg your pardon to be able to do what we use 300 plus billion to do so when I is talking about a consolidation phase the UK's projection is that by 2027 Access Bank UK will be one of the top 20 banks in the UK generating profit of about a billion do annually that's a completely different story so so the consolidation phase will begin to pay now when we have that money of course that love we have to share back with our shareholders we can't eat the money now and we're not planning to go to the Moon yet so so that money shareholders will get value that returns to them I speak specifically some of the comments that were or is he permitted to close to close do you want him to answer the questions because he has already Mrs baker said R give me assurance and then you give me now we can go and have a shave thank you very much uh please a round of applause for the director's management team of access Holdings p see uh let's listen to tala who is um the group managing director and CEO of the Nigerian exchange group as he prevents presents the ngx digital Gateway thank you very much good evening it should be now speaks to how much time we've spent let me welcome again everybody normally I would stand on the protocols that are have already been established but there are a few people that I would just really need to um you know recognize of course first and foremost I see some of our board members across the group and some of our subsidiaries uh here present but as I look at this table uh the high table here uh there are two people that I think symbolize quite a bit for us at The Exchange uh I usually tell people of course our business as the exchange is a B2B we really are only as good as our intermediaries as the people who support our business and of course that cuts across financial advisers to Brokers to lawyers and everything but on this table I see Mr baji balugo who I just want to really acknowledge uh who I would say in a certain way represents what is the best of that class of people and I would speak to that shortly as we speak about the digital Journey that we have gone uh we have people like themselves who have invested quite a lot in this market uh and really some of the things that we'll talk about as to distribution of Securities now uh we have them to thank and of course the wider intermediary community of course we have in our midst today uh uh past presedent it's uh always instructive to recognize past presedent but we have who I think Sly to Towers above uh in the Pres of a uh really also want to recognize and celebrate uh what I think is not just a contribution to the history of the exchange but to where we are today uh so where are we today uh really speaking as to the distribution of these Securities that we've been speaking about uh in the past maybe three years we have taken a very conscious effort to accelerate what I would call the digital transformation Journey that the exchange had been on certainly I met an exchange that had been consuming technology I met an exchange that really had its eyes on you know digital uh and we' spent the last three years trying to really uh push the envelope of that and for us the mission was quite straightforward how do we get our markets to a point facilitated by The Exchange to make sure that the distribution of Securities is just as simple as transferring money on your mobile phone uh you would remember that historically distribution of Securities in our Market has to do with taking paper forms whether there's a right insurances or public offers you fill those forms you start to look for Brokers and give that to them to put in the order book uh that comes of course with all sorts of challenges atomized by things like e dividend challenges and perhaps even the success of distribution uh we're very pleased at the exchange I would say group of companies to announce uh we had mentioned this over the past couple of days that we finally are at that point uh and I spoke to the history that got us there we've had several building blocks but at least certainly now yesterday uh for the first time at least in the history of the exchange not just Can You Now consume the Securities digitally we've also built something that allows a plug in to literally any institution that can consume technology and can consume apis so as we go along this journey with access with many of the other financial institutions you would find that the ability to buy the Securities is extremely easy wherever it is that you're consuming your financial product you would find that opportunity there to click a few buttons and be able to invest and that Journey for us at The Exchange you know a big part of it also I mentioned and appreciated uh Mr a mo who supported us through that Journey so we're looking very much forward to this process we think that it's a new dawn it's a new day as far as just our Capital markets are concerned uh most of these Securities we hope that by the time we're done a huge portion will be electronic and then of course those who have to consume paper are probably people who are in very extreme remote places uh before I also leave the floor let me make a few more acknowledgements as to this journey that we have just gone through the MD of cscs is here Mr jalo AI uh they remain a very strong partner of the exchange you know uh as I had said before the CSS remains a big heart of the work that we do and all of that heavy lifting I see Mr Raga I'm recognizing him for perhaps maybe slightly other reasons for those who know they would know Mr Faro but generally speaking I think as far as the distribution of these assets are concerned we're looking very much forward to working with uh the ecosystem and I dare say that access bank as well has invested quite a bit in that and once we leave this room you would find that to be possible on your phones right now if you're a shareholder of Access Bank you can go very quickly ngx invest you know invest. ngx that's it right there on the screen and you sign in there you can buy your rights right in here as we speak in 20 in two minutes is sort of what the target is less than to sign up to actually consuming those rights and then several of the public offers that You' be seeing happening tell the right insurances that you'd be seen happening uh that is an ability to uh Jimmy to the rest of our intermediaries our Brokers We Stand very ready to support uh many of the traditional channels for distribution remain you can call your broker uh they would facilitate that transaction for you and then there are protocols to get those orders into the exchange platform like I said I think the time is very far spent let me uh just say a very big thank you also to everyone who's here uh and to say that we look very much forward to this Capital Insurance process with access bank thank you thank you very much Mr for uh summarizing and bringing this event to a former close but before just before we close let me say a very big thank you for making the time to be here also despite the shedules the current president of the CH of stock Brokers Mr D please stand up for recognition thank you very much and congratulations on your recent uh inauguration as the president of the CIS thank you very much on behalf of the Nigerian exchange group an access holding spe LC and the subsidiaries on behalf of the chairman of the ngx and the chairman of access Holdings PLC on another chairman who are also here and I want to say a very big thank you everyone for being part of this event thank you very much our shareholders and investors of access bank and investors in Nigerian exchange group as a company itself oh now he's looking at me the youngest Doan in the room please give him an eye you have the floor please give me the mic give me the mic you need small call out thank you very much uh I want to um greet the chairman of uh NGS group the group CEO the CE of CSS who will Warehouse all this uh stock we are talking here today and uh I thank the chairman and the CEO of uh um the group CE of uh a change for providing this platform for those who come and uh Express themsel the chairman of asset and his team I thank him for coming he say if you dig a a pit and bring the mod there and he throw it back the dog the mod will just tell you that he has gone back to his maternal home the assess bank man the chairman is back to his maternal home and if he Hunter you have gone to the bush and you don't know the name Antelope which means you are not a hunter if you come to this exchange group and you don't know the name Ike you know you are not a stock broker or you're not part of the exchange I agreed you with your team and uh our brother you've done well they say if if a child washes his hand very clean that uh he will eat with the ERS and I'm seeing Sun Wu and Bonny face OK those two people are like represent one representing asalu and the other one is representing chief of paloka of those days I think we have been here for a while it is good for the ERS to be around so that The Young Ones will not eat the B that is in the Budd that people don't eat the establishment of this place the those who establish this place they know why they kept the do at the head of this table when the chairman of assess was addressing this flaw he did not recognize the D he did not but it's here we brought him up it is here we cooked all that is making the this now but well whoever doesn't have an ancestor he should die to become an ancestor for that yes well uh let's go to the business because there's no long speech for even service asset is a good product that says itself um yes he that is dancing does not see his or her back the assets they have been dancing and they are not seeing that they dancing well but today we'll tell them that they are dancing well if I say come and eat and washing two hands me that have the food will I bath well the next uh this I will say that asset has come to stay yes um yes a bed is taking food to his uh children he reached on the way there was obstruction there was so many problem he swallowed the food himself so it didn't the food didn't get to the children what am I saying yesterday I was just the uh I after the head is the shoulder I was the shoulder I was seated here somebody was saying their price was under price their stock was under pric I was watching if Ike will say such a thing today then I will know what to say because he cannot build a house and begin to use your hand to pull it down there's a way to make price in this market what you don't know ask those who are there to tell you how it is done you can't do your own and do my own we have been here I think some of them that are here me have been here since 1988 I don't think you know apar from from the chairman of uh uh group chairman of NGS and some other senior Brokers I don't think there's anybody that senior to me apart from alaj that presided yesterday there's time to give honor to whom honor is due yesterday I was SE here when I sawaji I stood up I came to see down there so respect is reciprocal yeah each time we are here to presentation or say one or two things yesterday I'm sorry I'm taking you to this yesterday something happened that have never happened before since I became a broker in this market there was a table there was no doing I went to the chairman the group chairman say where is he doing this I knew what I was talking he quickly asked Joseph to go and bring the D C thank God it was not me that dragged this that sat there that yesterday chairman thank you very much asss whether you like it or not this year's talk will be over subscribed because the AR sensus that I here have spoken yes whether you like it or not your stock will be over subscrib amen and the dividend that you have be paying small small will go up to the roof I thank you and uh I like your boldness each time you come around you will do what you normally do and uh the one you will never never forget is that um there's uh asense to here every house has those who guide it if uh somebody shot a gun now the backyard I say it's not for me it's not for my children who do you want the gun to so when a gun is shot please defend it say if you have a gun carry one to who is that if you have a wife you should be the one to defend their wife if you have a house you should be the one to defend their house when this my brother came to the market today we never knew that he will be here as a key speaker and medicine so if a child coming don't kill that child make the child grow because there's always tomorrow assets you will continue to grow because the Eder have said so and uh for the purpose of this L I don't think my catechism will be too long long because we have stayed too long in this place no long speech for evening service thank you very much thank you very much my Doan and if the evening sermon is long then we're all compelled to sit down to listen to the preacher thank you so much thank you very much um BS um sorry to interrupt my doing because I didn't want to become an ancestor before my time e e e