History
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc was established in 1990 as a limited liability company (LLC) regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide commercial and other banking services to Nigerians. The bank began operations as a commercial bank in 1991. The Bank inaugurated its first Head Office on 11 February 1991, at The Plaza, Adeyemo Alakija, Victoria Island, Lagos. In 1992, the Bank opened two branches in Lagos (Ikeja and Broad Street), as well as its first upcountry branch in Kano, and a Port-Harcourt branch in 1993.
In September 1996, Guaranty Trust Bank plc became a publicly traded corporation and received the President's Merit Award from the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The Bank received a universal banking license in February 2002 and was later designated as a settlement bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2003.[7] In the same year, it incorporated subsidiaries in the Gambia and Sierra Leone.[8]
Guaranty Trust Bank undertook its second share offering in 2004 and raised over ₦11 billion from Nigerian Investors to expand its operations.
On 26 July 2007, GTBank became the very first Subsaharan bank and first Nigerian joint stock company to be listed on London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse. The IPO raised US$750,000,000.[9] In the same year, they successfully placed Nigeria's first private Eurobond issue on the international capital markets.[10]
The GTBank US$500,000,000 Eurobond was the first-ever Benchmark Eurobond issue by a Nigerian corporate and the second Eurobond programme by GTBank in the last 5 years.[11]
The long-term debts of Guaranty Trust Bank plc are rated BB- by Standard & Poor's and AA− by Fitch Ratings, which are the highest ratings for a Nigerian bank.[12][13]
They introduced online banking and SMS banking in Nigeria and a naira denominated MasterCard as well as the Platinum and World Signia cards and with GTB-on-wheels, mobile branches.
On 12 March 2008, GTBank was given a banking licence for the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority.[14]
Guaranty Trust Bank Limited is a partner of Eko Atlantic City, a newly made island (820 ha.) in the Atlantic ocean, adjacent to Victoria Island, Lagos. It will be the home of the new Financial District. The building of Eko Atlantic City started in 2009 and was expected to be finished in 2016.[15]
To commemorate the bank's 20th anniversary, the Nigerian Postal Service issued a set of GTBank Anniversary postage stamps. This was the first time in Nigeria that a corporate organization was honored in such a way.[16]
In 2011, the bank became the biggest bank in Nigeria by market capitalisation.[17]
In 2013, the bank acquired a 70 percent shareholding in the Fina Bank Group for a cash payment of US$100 million.[18] Fina Bank branches and subsidiaries were rebranded GT Bank soon afterwards.
In 2013, the Bank issued a US$400,000,000 Euro bond at a coupon rate of 6%; the least obtained by a Nigerian company in the international capital market. The Eurobond was issued under the US$2,000,000 Global Medium Term Note Programme, which is registered under both Regulation in the United States of America and Rule 144A in the United Kingdom and sold to investors across Africa, America, Asia and Europe.[7]
The Bank has over 10,000 employees.[19]
In May 2021, GT Bank announced a[20] change in its corporate structure, moving to a holding company and spinning off its banking and other businesses into subsidiaries. The proposed change was[21] ratified by its shareholders on 4 December 2020 after a court mandated shareholders meeting.
