Shareholders of Resort Savings and Loans Plc, one of Nigeria's premier and leading primary mortgage institutions, have approved the listing of its shares on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) in September this year.

The shareholders approved the listing of the shares at the bank's Extra-Ordinary Meeting (EGM) in Lagos.

The Chairman of the bank, Joe Idudu, disclosed that the shares of the bank were overwhelmingly oversubscribed during the private placement exercise held in February to March 2008.

According to him, a total of 13,164,652,404 units of shares were subscribed by 13,245 shareholders and allotted in full after a split of shares from N1.00 to 50 kobo each. This, he said, was inclusive of 141,800,755 units of shares subscribed to by 13 members of the company as Rights Issues, which were also allotted in full.

He said the conclusion of the private placement exercise invariably necessitated an increase in the share capital of the bank to an authorized share capital of N10,000,000,000 and N6,582,326,202 fully paid up capital, subject however, to the on going share capital verification approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

"This has placed your bank in a very strong position to compete in the mortgage banking industry, as one of the most capitalized primary mortgage institutions and offer good returns to its stakeholders," he said.

Idudu noted that the over- subscription of the private placement shares of the bank by more than 13,245 shareholders, invariably changed the status of the bank as a company with few shareholders to a public company, with thousands of shareholders, from across the country and beyond, with great expectations.

The chairman admitted that the listing of the shares on the Stock Exchange will guarantee investors a steady window of opportunity to trade in the shares by exiting or buying new shares of the bank on the floor of the Exchange.

He further said that the bank would also gain from the listing of its shares, in that upon listing, the board and management will not only continue to adhere more strictly to prudent financial management, as required by the CBN but will also pay particular attention to the corporate governance rules and regulations of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and NSE.

The managing director of the company, Abimbola Olayinka, also disclosed that the company is embarking on property development in some parts of the country including Oniru in Lekki (Lagos State), Ofada (Ogun State), Yola (Adamawa) and Abuja.

In the same vein, new branches of the bank were being planned for Ikeja and Lekki in Lagos State, Adamawa, and Abuja while another is being considered for Port Harcourt.