Access Bank, Sterling Bank, Unity Bank record price appreciation in July

Motolani Oseni

Access Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and Unity Bank Plc were the only listed banks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that recorded price appreciation in July, data gathered by The Daily Times revealed.

The banking sector in July witnessed investors’ sell-off, attributable to anticipation of weak six months ended June 30, 2019 corporate earnings, among many other regulatory policies that tend to weaken performance.

Of the 14 listed banks shares on the NSE, only the above banks appreciated in share price while one bank share price remained flat in the considered month.

With profit-taking in the banks’ shares, the NSE Banking Index depreciated by 9.2per cent or 33.73 basis points to 333.14 basis points as at July 31, 2019, from 366.87 basis points, it closed in June.

Consequently, the NSE All-share the index in July depreciated by 7.5 per cent or 2,248.61 basis points to 27,718.26 basis points from 29,966.87 basis points the market opened for trading in July.

For instance, Access Bank’s share price appreciated by 0.77 per cent or N0.05 in July to N6.55 from N6.50 it closed in June, while Unity Bank share price rose by 1.54 per cent or N0.01 to N0.66 from N0.65 it opened for trading in July.

In addition, the share price of Sterling Bank gained 4.55 per cent or N0.10 to N2.30 from N2.20 while Union Bank of Nigeria traded flat at N6.85 per share in July.

Capital market analysts who spoke with The Daily Times said the decline cut-across all sectors of companies listed on NSE, stressing that leading banks shares can only appreciate once audited result and accounts for the period ended June 30, 2019 is submitted to the bourse.

The Managing Director, Enterprises Stockbrokers Limited, Mr Rotimi Fakayejo, said the uncertainty in the nation’s economy is impacting on listed banks shares.

He acknowledged that investors reacted to crisis that rock Ecobank in July, stating that the bank’s shares will appreciate once audited six months ended June 30, 2019, are released to the public.

In his perspective, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, APT Securities Limited, Mr. Kasimu Kurfi, attributed weak performance in the banking sector, others to the election year, budget delay, absence of fiscal policy, among others.