Biography: Banking

Ayotunde Owoigbe is a partner with Banwo & Ighodalo, a leading multidisciplinary Nigerian law firm that provides first-class legal advice on numerous aspects of corporate and commercial Nigerian law.

Ayotunde was admitted into the Nigerian Bar in January 2001, and joined B&I in the same year. She was admitted into the firm's partnership in February 2010. Her core areas of practice are banking, capital markets, mergers & acquisitions and project finance.

She has advised on several banking, securitsation and loan syndication transactions. She recently co-led (together with one of her partners) the team that advised a syndicate of 8 Nigerian banks on a two-tranche facility of N82.5 billion and US$100 milllion (approximately US$650 million) advanced to Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services Limited; the largest syndication by Nigerian banks in recent time.

She led the team that advised Stanbic IBTC Bank in connection with a US$25 million cocoa receivables revolving trade finance facility for financing the purchase and storage of Nigerian cocoa from the 2010/2011 crop harvest year and processing same for export to international offtakers.

Her other banking transactions include Proparco's US$50 million facility advanced to Guaranty Trust Bank; and Stanbic IBTC Bank's US$30 million fertiliser receivables-backed trade finance facility advanced to Tak Continental Limited to finance the latter's importation of raw materials to be used in fertiliser blending.

She advised Main One Cable Company in connection with the debt financing component of the US$240 million Main One Cable project. Other clients include the Dangote Group, Skye Bank and Fidelity Bank.

Ayotunde is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the rules sub-committee of the capital markets committee of the SEC; and the continuing legal education committee of the Capital Markets Solicitors Association. She is also a 2007 Associate of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative.

She has authored articles in leading publications and frequently delivers presentations on subjects in her core practice areas. Her hobbies are reading, music and soccer. She is married; and blessed with a daughter and a son.