NOVA Merchant Bank Wins ‘Bond Offering Of The Year’ At BAFI Awards

NOVA Merchant Bank Wins ‘Bond Offering Of The Year’ At BAFI Awards—NOVA Merchant Bank has emerged the winner of the ‘Bond Offering of the Year’ prize at the BusinessDay Bank and other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards. It clinched the prize for its extremely successful N10bn seven year subordinated unsecured bond which was oversubscribed by 300 percent.

In a well-attended ceremony comprising of Bank CEOs, captains of industries and senior financial executives, the Bank was crowned with the award in recognition of the unprecedented and audacious nature of its bond issuance which was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic and within three years of the Bank commencing operations.

Despite the significant level of uncertainty occasioned by the pandemic and the resultant lockdown, the bond offer was highly demanded with a diversified order book made up of discerning investors, which included asset managers, insurance companies, domestic pension funds, non-financial institution corporates, high net-worth individuals, as well as, international fund managers.

Chairman NOVA Merchant Bank, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, who expressed delight at the recognition, said that even within its short period of operations, the Bank had done a lot to fulfil its mandate of providing long-term funding to its customers.

“This award is due to the combined effort of the Bank’s high calibre Board and Management team. It bodes well for the future realisation of our desire to re-establish merchant banking as a key economic driver by providing long-term funds and advisory services,” he enthused.

NOVA’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Nath Ude, who received the award on behalf of the Bank, dedicated it to all the staff who, according to him, have been highly instrumental to the achievement of the Bank’s goals and worked tirelessly to deliver strong results notwithstanding the macroeconomic challenges.

“This bond leaves the Bank better positioned to meet the ever-growing needs of our customers for long term financing. It complements the traction we have witnessed in our business despite the challenging environment as we continue to seek ways to deliver superior value to our customers,” he stated.

NOVA Merchant Bank Limited is an investment grade rated merchant bank in Nigeria which offers an integrated suite of financial solutions covering Wholesale Banking, Investment Banking, Asset Management, Securities Trading, Wealth Management, Trade Services, Transaction Banking, Cash Management and Digital Banking.

It has an ambitious vision of being Africa’s preferred financial solutions provider by creating superior value in the markets it serves. It is guided by its overarching philosophy of “New Thinking. New Opportunities”.