Access Bank’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Herbert Wigwe purchased 3.1 million shares worth N21.4 million. 

In a disclosure filed at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the transaction, which noted to be carried out via indirect holding through Tengen Holdings (Mauritius) Ltd.  

The notification of insider dealing, on the NSE website, revealed the following details: Purchase of shares by directors of a listed company is legal and occurs regularly.

However, regulatory provisions require that such trades are disclosed. 

Details of the current transaction include: 

• A total of 3,144,859 was purchased indirectly in the month of June. The shares were broken down into two transactions. 
• Wigwe purchased 3,094,853 shares at a price of N6.81 on the 15th of June 2020 and another 50,000 shares at a price of N6.79 on the 16th of June. 
• It noted that the 3,144,859 shares purchased were from Wigwe’s indirect holding through Tengen Holdings Ltd in Mauritius. 
• The aggregate price of the transaction was N21,415,448.93. 

Recall that in January, the bank’s CEO had sold 55.6 million ordinary shares held indirectly, followed by another 28.86 million shares worth N297.82 million, cumulatively representing a stake of 6.81% in the bank. 

Of the 15 members of Access Bank’s board of directors, Wigwe has the highest stake in the bank, directly owning 201.23 million shares and 1.24 billion shares indirectly.  

The price difference between both days of the transaction could be as a result of the correlation between insider dealing and share prices. 

Access bank’s share price as of yesterday stood at N6.85, down from its 2020 year high of N11.6 per share. Access Bank has a market capitalization of 243.5 billion and a net asset of N635 billion.