First Bank says it plans to form a listed holding company, in line with new requirements by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The holding company will own the bank and its subsidiaries in order to comply with reforms in the sector. The bank could be de-listed to be replaced on the stock exchange by the group holding company, reports Business Day.

The CBN intends to abolish the universal banking model and separate banks’ core lending business from more speculative capital market activities. 

First Bank is one of Nigeria’s first lenders to clarify how it plans to comply with the central bank’s reform agenda. Others have said they plan to spin off subsidiaries but have not yet given details.  

Meanwhile the improvement in the value of stocks in the first quarter of this year at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is beginning to reduce banks’ exposure to share-backed loans, thus bringing down the value of non-performing loans.