Stock Price of FBN Holdings Crashes by 5.63% 

Kayode  Tokede

The stock price of FBN Holdings Plc yesterday fell  by 5.63 per cent on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) as investors traded the stock of the oldest financial institution in Nigeria with caution.

The stock, which opened for trading at N30.20 per share, depreciated by N1.70 per share or 5.63 per cent to close at N28.50 per share on the Exchange. 

Market operators attributed the  downtrend recorded by the stock to investors’ negative reaction to the dispute  between First Bank, which is  the  mainstay of FBH Holdings Plc  and General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) over a $225 million loan.

According to  stock traders, investors are adopting caution regarding the FBN Holding shares, awaiting the final outcome of the dispute, noting that this may mark the beginning of a continuous slide the shares.

 Contrary to claims of alleged debt to First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc, the management of the GHL, which cited several agreements between it and FBN, explained that there was a subsisting moratorium pending the commercial oil production.

Also, GHL said  there was a Federal High Court judgement in its favour, adding further that FBN’s claim of indebtedness, especially in the media space was “misleading and malicious”.

Referencing a January 10/11 publications in the media, including the social media wherein a “Federal High Court in Lagos was reported to have frozen the accounts of GHL in all financial institutions in Nigeria and restrained the banks from releasing funds to the company owned by Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman of THISDAY/ARISE Media Group “Over alleged outstanding indebtness amounting to $225,802,379.79m to First Bank,” GHL’s Director of Strategy and Operations, Abdelmuizz Bello, stressed that the claims of FBN were untrue and misleading.

 According to Bello, the oil firm entered into a legally binding, enforceable Subrogation Agreement with First Bank  on May 29, 2021.

By the terms of the agreement, FBN was to fund GHL’s exploration, production and development of OML 120 in exchange for sharing profit from oil proceeds from the OML in a 50:50 ratio after statutory payments and taxes over 8 years.

Bello explained that the FBN 50 per cent share would then be used to pay down its non-performing loans of about $718 million, which was discounted to $600m to resolve its solvency issues therefrom. 

“In its quest to stay afloat, the FBN loan was  sold at $600million as an Eligible Banking Asset (EBA), with comfort from GHL. The FBN then collected the cash from Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) with which they rebuilt the bank without meeting GHL’s needs.

“The FBN non-performing loan arose from FBN’s unsecured and reckless lending to Atlantic Energy under separate Strategic Alliance arrangements, in which GHL had no nexus to or connection with.

“The agreements made it clear that the Non-Performing Loan had nothing to do with GHL beyond the fact that 50% of profits from OML 120 due to FBN under the Subrogation Agreement will be used by FBN  to settle the hole created in its books by the Non-Performing Loan (NPL).

“For clarity, Atlantic Energy operated OMLs 26, 30, 34 and 42 – very different from GHL’s OML 120,” he said.

The Director of Strategy and Operations at GHL claimed that the agreements signed with the oil company enabled FBN to return to good standing because instead of declaring a loan loss of N302Bn at the then exchange rate, the signing of the Tripartite agreement with GHL enabled FBN to declare a profit of N151Bn ($377.5million) for the year ending December 31, 2021.