FBN Holdings’ extraordinary general meeting placed on hold following court order

An extraordinary general meeting in which First Bank shareholders were to vote on a decision to raise ₦300 billion ($231 million) in fresh capital has now been put on hold after a Federal High Court maintained an earlier decision on Wednesday.

In July 2022, the court barred FBN Holdings, the parent company of First Bank, from holding any annual general meeting until the conclusion of a suit filed by a shareholder, Olusegun Onagoruwa, in 2021.

On April 17, Onagoruwa’s lawyers asked the court to stop First Bank from holding an extraordinary general meeting initially scheduled for April 30. On Wednesday, Justice Akintayo Aluko ruled that the 2022 ruling is maintained.

FBN Holdings now faces a race against time to raise fresh capital, which requires shareholders’ approval at an extraordinary general meeting before the Central Bank’s deadline of April 2026. This is important considering the nature of legal matters in Nigeria where court cases sometimes take up to twenty years.

Nigeria’s biggest banks must raise $2.6 billion in 24 months after the Central Bank shared new minimum capital requirements. The regulator will not allow banks to use accumulated earnings or debt to meet the new capital requirements.

Hours after the April 30 meeting was canceled, Adesola Adeduntan, First Bank’s CEO, announced his resignation to “pursue other interests” eight months before his tenure expires. He led the lender for a record nine years.