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First Bank Holdings, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has divested from its microfinance subsidiary, FBN Microfinance Bank.

In a statement posted on its notice board at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, First Bank Holdings said it has sold its shares in FBN Microfinance Bank to Letshego Holdings, a Botswana-based microfinance holding company.

“FBN Holdings Plc has executed a sale and purchase agreement with Letshego Holdings Limited to sell its shares (in FBN Microfinance Bank) to Letshego. We expect that the sale will be concluded before the end of the current financial year,” the statement said.

The move away from the microfinance industry comes after First Bank Holdings obtained a merchant-banking license in May for its subsidiary, Kakawa Discount House.

First Bank Holdings is one of the largest financial conglomerates in Nigeria. Its businesses span commercial banking, insurance, asset management, investment banking, etc. In 2014, the company reported its revenues rose by 21.3 percent year-on-year to N480.6 billion while profits after tax rose by 2 percent year-on-year to N92.9 billion.

First Bank Holdings’ stock fell by 1.8 percent at the end of trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Friday to close at N4.90.

Chibuike Oguh is Financial Nigeria's Frontier Markets Analyst