Family Bank Limited has officially rang the bell to mark the listing and the commencement of trading of its corporate bond at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) today.
The move comes after the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) gave a nod to list the first tranche of its Medium Term Note under the Fixed Income Market Segment at the NSE after a successful offer that raised a total of KES 4.42 billion against a KES 3 billion target, marking a subscription of 147.3%.
Speaking during the bell ringing ceremony at the NSE trading floor, Kiprono Kittony, the NSE Chairman noted, “This oversubscription of the initial bond demonstrates the confidence investors have in Family Bank and affirms the importance of the corporate bond market as a key source of business financing.”
“The success of this bond supplements the growth of NSE’s corporate bond market that has witnessed a total capital raise of Kshs.13.6 billion in the last two years.” He added.
According to Family Bank Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Mbithi, the response that the bond has generated demonstrates the confidence the market has in the Family Bank brand despite constrained liquidity in the money market as evidenced by the tough economic environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The capital raised will definitely strengthen our business position and competitiveness as we seek to strengthen our capital base to support future balance sheet growth and onward lending to MSMEs and also anchor our next phase of investments in technology,” said Mbithi.
NSE Chief Executive Geoffrey Odundo congratulated Family Bank on their tremendous growth over the past few years and welcomed them back to the market.
“We are delighted that Family Bank are returning for another listing of their corporate bond. This is an indication of the potential recovery of the corporate bond market and an acknowledgement of the rising investor appetite in our market for debt securities,” he said.
The Bank raised KES 4.42 billion from local fund managers, banks, retail investors, insurance companies and other institutional investors. The Note will bear interest at a fixed annual rate of 13.0% until maturity on December 17, 2026.