Shareholders of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, on Tuesday, at an Extraordinary General Meeting, voted to cancel the resolution on the consolidation of shares earlier approved on June 17, 2016.
The EGM by proxy, which also amended Articles of Association of the ETI, including a provision for the option of electronic general meetings going forward, held immediately after the regular Annual General Meeting to review the group’s audited financials for the year ended December 31, 2019.
As part of the 2016 resolution, the bank had planned to cancel about 95% or 17.4bn units of its total of 18.35bn of its issued shares under a massive shares consolidation exercise that would have seen shareholders surrendering 20 existing shares for a new share.
At the extraordinary meeting at its head office in Lome, Togo, in 2016, resolutions were passed in favour of the share consolidation by increasing the nominal value of the ordinary shares of the company from 2.5 US cents per share to 50 US cents each. This was to have been done by consolidating every 20 ordinary shares held into one new ordinary share each, and issuing in replacement, new ordinary shares of 50 US cents each.
Meanwhile, speaking at Tuesday’s AGM, chairman of Ecobank Group, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, who is exiting the board after completing his five-year tenure tagged ‘Roadmap to Leadership’, noted the improved business and operational foundations lead for the group under his watch.
Others, he noted, include the group’s leadership position “in digital products with scalability, strong corporate governance and continued expense discipline.
“We continue to focus on making substantial strides towards ensuring a return on equity above the cost of capital across the Group despite the challenging economic conditions especially with the COVID-19, whilst also maintaining our commitment to driving economic development and financial integration across Africa.
“As I retire, it has been a privilege for me to have served this great institution and I am particularly proud of what we have achieved,” he said, expressing confidence in the ability of his successor as Chairman, Alain Nkontchou to continue leading the board in its journey to leadership.
“The world has its eyes on Africa, and we are positioning our bank in a way that continues to ensure its commitment to, and development of the continent. I will remain a strong ambassador of this great institution and its ideals,” Ikazoboh stressed.
In his to the outgoing board chairman, tribute on behalf of management, Ade Ayeyemi, Chief Executive of Ecobank Group, said Ikazoboh served the group diligently, even as he acknowledged his “invaluable stewardship, counsel, strategic expertise and oversight that he so willingly provided.”
He also congratulated and welcomed Alain Nkontchou, Ikazoboh’s replacement, describing the 2019 financial year as one of substantial progress for Ecobank Group on multiple fronts, including the broadening of its innovative product range with its upgraded core banking application platform.
The year, he noted, also saw an increase in customer base, in addition to the group establishing “new partnerships and initiated programmes to transform customer experience and embed the desired conduct, culture and ethics throughout the organisation.
“Each of our three business lines improved their profitability and positioned Ecobank for sustainable long-term success. Post-year-end, the effectiveness of our digital ecosystem came into sharp focus amid the current global challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, enabling us to provide seamless continuity of service to our customers. The virus is having devastating effects and is causing severe disruption to families, businesses and economies across our sub-Saharan footprint and we continue to provide our unwavering support in these unprecedented and extremely challenging circumstances,” he stressed.