The Ivorian financial holding company NSIA Participations said it was not officially informed of
the intention of National Bank of Canada (NBC), one of its reference shareholders since 2015, to divest
its shares. "The withdrawal project, announced in recent days by press publications, has not yet been
notified to NSIA Participations", we learn from a statement of the group taken up by the site Financial Afrik.
At the same time, NSIA Participation indicates that the BNC also participated in the capital increase
of NSIA Participations, decided by the Extraordinary General Meeting of 08 April 2019, passing its
shares from 21.67% to 22.07%. An initiative that should mark the renewed confidence of the partner
canadian.
NSIA officials do not directly deny the information. They just say they don't have any
not been informed. On the national bank of Canada's side, we have not been very direct as much. Dans
the framework for a discussion with investors for the presentation of the third quarter
2019, Louis Vachon the CEO of the institution, has yet let this idea float in the air.
After praising the performance of ABA Bank, its subsidiary in Cambodia, Mr. Vachon addressed the others
investments on a less positive note. "You can expect gradual divestitures in
in the coming periods. In the third quarter of 2019 we recognized in Africa a loss of
$27 million in value on our portfolio investments, particularly due to impairment loss
of NSIA Bank, since its IPO in 2017," he said of some of the assets of
its institution in emerging markets.
But above all, it should be noted that the BNC as of June 30, 2019, has concluded that it has lost the significant influence on the
control of the operations of NSIA Participations (NSIA). This means that, although its participation has
BNC no longer had the power to influence important management decisions. As a result,
it therefore ceased to account for it using the equity method of that investment, and a
designated its investment in NSIA as a financial asset (securities) at fair value.
In this new context, the Canadian bank measured what it invested to acquire NSIA
participations and what this investment was worth today. It realized that the net loss was 27
$ million. National Bank of Canada is not the only investor to have lost by betting on the valuation of NSIA Banque.
A history of the financial institution's stock price reveals that shares purchased in the fourth
quarter 2017 at 9000 FCFA, are now worth only 2775 FCFA. This is a loss of nearly 70%,
for those who have retained the title since then. A young stock market investment analyst based
in Côte d'Ivoire had already warned investors.
He had presented this according to the African metaphor of the woman to marry whose dowry cost a little too much
expensive... Brice Kouaou, who is the founder of the Bourse school, had indicated that with a price
stock exchange on profit of 12.5 NSIA Bank, which was not the most profitable bank in Côte
d'Ivoire, was too expensive, compared to its competitors in the sector. From this point of view, he advised
investors to invest in it only for the purpose of generating short-term gains. The current evolution of
things seem to prove him right.
On the NSIA side, we try to secure the shareholders as much as possible. In the annual report of
2018, its founder and chairman of the board of directors, Jean Kacou Diagou, tried to reassure
in particular on the problem of the Company SAF Cacao. He explained arrangements that made it possible to

solve the problem. The president also praised the management efforts that have allowed his bank to
achieve an increase in net profit in fiscal 2018.

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