Access Bank stock gains on news of dividend payment

By Omobayo Azeez

The shares of Access Bank Plc listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) appreciated by N0.5 or 0.79 per cent from its last closing price of N6.30 per share as the news of dividend payment by the company broke.

The board of directors of Access Bank has proposed to pay an interim dividend to shareholders of the financial institution for 2020 half year.

This development was revealed in a notice the bank sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday after its board meeting.

The board members of the bank have also converged to discuss the financial statements of the company for the period ended June 30, 2020.

According to the disclosure, the accounts of the company were approved during the meeting, while the payment of the dividend was also discussed.

Access Bank said it will like to reward investors of the company with the cash incentive, but the final decision lies with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Already, efforts are being made to forward the financial statements to the banking sector regulator for scrutiny and approval.

Once the financial report is approved by the central bank, it would be filed with the NSE for the perusal of the investing public for them to have a good knowledge of the financial status of the bank and the amount to be paid as interim dividend.

Recall that last year, the bank paid an interim dividend of 25 kobo per share to its shareholders. Expectations are however mixed this time because of the envisaged impact of pandemic on the performance of players in the financial services industry among others.

Access Bank is one of the five tier-1 lenders in Nigeria and it is on the premium board of the NSE currently selling at N6.25 per unit.