FBNQuest Merchant Bank, the investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, has received accolades from global financial and capital market awarding institutions in recognition of the impact and size of transactions delivered by the Investment Banking business in 2017.

The firm has won five awards in various categories of the EMEAFinance Achievement Awards, including ‘Best Local Currency Bond House’ and ‘Best Social Development Bond’ for its role in Mixta Real Estate’s $4.5b Senior Guaranteed Fixed Rate Bonds; Most Innovative Naira Bond for the US$300m Inaugural SEC-Registered Diaspora Bond; ‘Best Mergers and Acquisition Deal’ for the Divestment of AMCON’s 100% Shareholding in Keystone Bank; and ‘Best Naira Bond’ for its role as one of the financial advisers on the Federal Government of Nigeria’s ₦100b 7-year Inaugural Sovereign Sukuk.

The Bank was also recognized for the FGN’s Sukuk transaction by The Banker’s Deal of the Year Awards, receiving the ‘Deal of the Year – Africa’ award. The innovative transaction, which was a debut Sukuk issuance by the Federal Government, had no precedent to provide a benchmark and no explicit guidelines within the general regulatory framework. Nevertheless, through diligent structuring and positioning, the offer received a strong market reception and was oversubscribed, with PFAs, Banks and Asset/Fund Managers accounting for over 70%. Proceeds from the issue are allocated to the construction and rehabilitation of 25 roads across the country.

This supports one of the key strategic priorities of the government’s Economic Recovery & Growth Plan, which is to address transportation infrastructure challenges. The transaction has helped to deepen the Nigerian debt capital market by creating a benchmark for pricing future Sukuks, in addition to successfully attracting investors with an appetite for non-interest bearing instruments. It has also boosted capital expenditure and strengthened public financial management, given the project-targeted financing and the discipline imposed by the structure.

The Bank was also recently awarded the ‘Best Investment Bank in Nigeria’ by Global Finance Magazine. Commenting on the achievements, Managing Director, Kayode Akinkugbe said “We are proud of these accomplishments and how we have been able to deliver impact by working with our partners. We will continue to strive for excellence, as these awards encourage us to stay true to our values to be impactful and to contribute meaningfully to economic growth’.

FBNQuest Merchant Bank provides services in as Corporate Banking, Investment Banking, Wealth Management, Institutional Sales and Fixed Income, Currencies & Treasury. Since it commenced merchant banking operations in November 2015, the bank has seen unprecedented growth across all its businesses through its diversified service offerings which cater to a wide group of stakeholders.