Wema Bank Plc has announced plans to raise N32.3 billion ($200 million) over the next 2 years to fund its loan book.

The bank which recently raised N40 billion ($247 million) for expansion projects across the country, said  it expects to raise $100 million in the first quarter of next year and the balance by 2015, when the returns of the bank’s equity would have improved.

“We are looking at several options including bonds, loans, and debentures as ways to generate the funds within said period,” said WEMA’s Chief Financial Officer, Tunde Mabawonku.

The bank which according to Mabawonku operates mainly in Western Nigeria and the Federal Capital, Abuja, plans to seek regulatory approval for a national banking licence this year in its bid to open additional 20 branches.

He explained that this was necessary because the Central Bank of Nigeria changed its rules as part of the banking reforms after a debt crisis in 2009 brought the industry on the verge of collapse.

As a result, banks in the country are now either licensed as holding companies operating local and international, or as national and regional.

Some shareholders of the bank said despite the fact that the bank had earlier recorded an after tax loss of N5 billion ($30 million), they were hopeful that the future of the bank was bright with the new plans in place.