Intercontinental Bank Plc, will hold its 19th yearly general meeting on Monday in Abuja, where shareholders are expected to approve the creation of additional shares and a total dividend of N13.5 billion for the 2007/2008 year is proposed and expected to be approved.

In the notice of the meeting already served to shareholders, the bank is seeking the nod of the shareholders to create additional 3.5 billion ordinary shares, which will push the company's ordinary shares from 21 billion to 24.5 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each and 1.5 billion preference shares of 50 kobo each. This will increase the authorised share capital to N13 billion from N11.25 billion.

At the meeting, the shareholders are also expected to ratify the change of the bank's financial year - end from February to December in accordance with the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria that all banks must end their financial by December of each year.

In a statement made available to The Guardian, signed by the bank's Head of Corporate Communication, Mr. Emeka Anaeto, the proposal of N13.5 billion dividend for the 2007/2008 year is made up of the N6.3 billion paid to the investors as interim dividend last September and the N7.2 billion, the bank is proposing to pay as final dividend payout to its shareholders this month. Anaeto said this translates to 75 kobo total dividend per share for the year up from 60 kobo paid last financial year. However, last week, the bank announced its financial results for the year ended February 2008 showing a deposit base of N1.05 trillion, up by 126 per cent from N468 billion in the previous year. Total assets plus contingents rose to N1.7 trillion, up by 108 per cent from N823 billion. This has made the bank the first to hit trillion mark in deposit and also giving it number one position in total assets.

The bank also puts its gross earnings at N173.5 billion, an increase of 99 per cent over the N87.4 billion recorded in the previous year. Profit before tax grew by 102 per cent to N45.6 billion, as against N22.6 billion in 2007, while profit after tax soared by 125 per cent to N34.8 billion during the period under review. The capital base also rose to N200 billion from N157 billion.

The bank paid N574 million as total dividend in 2001 and paid N1 billion in 2002. The bank's dividend payout rose to N1.4 billion in 2003 climbing to N1.6 billion in 2005. Shareholders had a dividend payout of N4.2 billion in 2006 and N9.5 billion last year.

The Corporate Communication's head said the result is indicative of the bank's management capacity to turn its growing shareholders funds into profitability and higher returns on investment. The Group Chief Executive, Dr. Erastus Akingbola said the exceptional performance of the bank in all financial indices represents a bold step in the bank's global strategy of benchmarking the best financial institution in the international arena.

Recently, Intercontinental Bank entered into a joint venture with Blue Financial Services Company, the number one micro finance institution in Africa with 171 branches spread across ten African countries to float Blue-Intercontinental Microfinance Bank.