The shareholders of TrustBanc Holdings Limited have approved the injection of N1.5bn capital into its microfinance bank subsidiary, just as the parent company’s rating has been upgraded by DataPro from A to A+ with a stable outlook.

According to a statement issued on Monday, the shareholders’ approval aims to further reinforce the bank’s position as a leading lender in the public sector segment and facilitate its expansion into other retail lending segments.

In the DataPro rating note, the long-term rating of A+ indicates low risk. It reflects the group’s strong financial strength, excellent operating performance, and growing business profile.

TrustBanc shareholders’ fund grew from N2.9bn to N11bn during the year under review.  The rating note affirmed that the N11bn is well above the aggregate regulatory required capital of N550m stipulated by the Securities & Exchange Commission and Central Bank of Nigeria for the group’s subsidiary companies, namely TrustBanc Capital Management Limited, TrustBanc Asset Management Limited and TrustBanc J6 MFB Limited.

Based on DataPro’s analysis, TrustBanc’s assets were predominantly composed of liquid assets, accounting for 89 per cent of the total assets as of the end of 2022.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, TrustBanc redeemed its series 11 Commercial Paper issue, totalling N4.9bn, marking the fourth successful redemption in 2023, following the earlier redemption of series 8, 9, and 10, amounting to N5.96bn.

“We are once again delighted to honour our commitment and redeem the series 11 issue upon its maturity. We extend our sincere gratitude to all the holders of this commercial paper. Their trust in us is a testament to our strong financial performance, robust business model, and growth strategy.

As a group, we take pride in contributing to the development of the Commercial Paper market through our association with the FMDQ. It is worth mentioning that TrustBanc was nominated, alongside MTNN and FCMB, for the award of the largest commercial paper lodgement on FMDQ last year,” said Group Chief Executive Officer, Abu Jimoh.

Dealers on the CP issue include UCML Capital Limited, United Capital Plc and Emerging Africa Group.

Speaking on behalf of the dealers, a director at UCML Capital Limited, Egie Akpata, said the company’s ability to pay at maturity confirms to subscribers and the market at large that TrustBanc is trustworthy.