Sterling Bank Managing Director, Abubakar Suleiman, and three other executive directors at the financial institution, Raheem Owodeyi, Tunde Adeola and Yemi Odubiyi engaged in share dealings last week.
The four executives traded about N42.36 million worth of shares, amid Sterling Bank‘s depreciation in the Nigerian stock market, having suffered -24% depreciation in the bourse, as investors stayed away from the firm following shareholders declining confidence in the lender’s growth.
Shareholders massive sell off has dragged Sterling Bank’s share down to N1.55 kobo per share as at June 17, 2022, as stakeholders are willing to sell their holdings at a cheaper price to exit their investment from the lender, way below the N2.04 investors were willing to buy at the start of January 2021.
The bearish sentiment has wiped off N14.10 billion from the market capitalisation of Sterling Bank, reducing its valuation from N58.73 billion, down to N44.62 billion, reflecting the capital market’s dwindling demand for Sterling Bank shares.
Amid this downward trend, Suleiman, Owodeyi, Adeola, and Odubiyi, who are part of the top five direct majority shareholders, participated in the staff equity scheme, to acquire more shares of Sterling Bank.
In a share dealing document obtained from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), it was gathered that Sterling Bank MD paid N19.92 million to acquire 13.02 million shares on June 16, taking his total investment in the firm to N93.53 million.
