Prime Business AfricaYear-to-date, investing in Wema Bank has been more profitable than hoarding the United States dollar (USD), according to analysis by Prime Business Africa.
Between January 2 and July 23, the dollar has traded flat against the naira at N1,534/$ in the official window, while in the parallel market, the greenback has depreciated by 7.84 percent from N1,650/$ to N1,530/$.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAs a result, hoarding the dollar has not been profitable, as the US currency has only acted as an asset used to hedge inflation.
However, shareholders of Wema Bank have recorded a 97.8 percent growth in their investment within the same period, as stock market traders have been bullish on the equity, leading to its share price rising by N8.9 kobo, from N9.10 kobo to N18 per share.
To put it into context, if you invested N20,000 at the start of the year in Wema Bank shares, the amount would have increased by over N19,000 year-to-date.
Also, this shows that it is more profitable to invest in Wema Bank’s shares than to save money in the same bank, as the company only gives a 4.65 percent interest rate per annum for a personal savings account, while its ALAT naira goals offer gives account holders only 8.75 percent per annum.
Furthermore, Prime Business Africa gathered that, with the 97.8 percent increase in investment, shareholders of Wema Bank have recorded a combined gain of N190.72 billion within the last seven months.
Of the total amount gained, the company’s majority shareholder, Abolanle Matel-Okoh, accounted for 32.80 percent, which represents a total gain of N62,56 billion for her.
PBA understands that Matel-Okoh holds direct shares of 972.66 million in Wema Bank, valued at N17,5 billion as of Wednesday, compared to the N8,85 billion they were valued on January 2, indicating she gained N8,65 billion through the direct shares.
Also, Matel-Okoh – and Yewande Zaccheaus – hold indirect shares of 6.05 billion in NeemTree Limited, valued at N109.02 billion as of July 23, compared to the N55.11 billion they were worth as of January 2, indicating the investment increased by N53.90 billion.
Due to the 97.8 percent increase in investment, Wema Bank also saw its valuation in the stock market rise from N195.01 billion to N385.74 billion.
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