Shares in Ecobank fell five per cent yesterday after the pan-African lender reported a loss for 2016, blaming a recession in Nigeria – its main market – and a strong US currency.
The bank also proposed raising $400 million (about Sh41.34 billion) via a convertible bond issue from shareholders at 6.46 per cent above Libor. It said it had received subscriptions from existing shareholders for around $300 million (about Sh31 billion).
Ecobank, which operates in nearly 40 African nations, reported a loss before tax of $131.3 million (about Sh13.57 billion) for 2016 compared with a loss of $205.2 million (about Sh21.21 bilion) a year earlier
The Kenyan subsidiary said in February it expected to cut costs by more than 15 per cent in this year after transferring key services to digital banking.
The regional lender officially launched its unified digital banking platform in Nairobi yesterday, moving closer to the plan in which it will close nine of its 29 branches in the country.
The branches that are scheduled to close this year include Chambers, Ongata Rongai, Gikomba, Embakasi, Thika Road Mall, Meru, Kitale, Busia and Malindi.
The lender says the digital banking model will be adopted in all the 36 African countries that it has operations.