Access Holdings PLC has announced that its main subsidiary, Access Bank Plc, has completed the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank Angola S.A. and Standard Chartered Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited.
This was published on the NGX disclosure page and signed by the company secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, on November 27, 2024.
While speaking on the completion milestone, Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna, managing director/CEO of Access Bank PLC and CEO of the Banking Group said, “We are pleased to have successfully concluded two important acquisitions in Angola and Sierra Leone, affording us synergies to strengthen the quality of our earnings from both countries by significantly growing our share of the Corporate and SME banking in the two markets. The combinations represent another significant step towards our broader vision of becoming the Worlds Most Respected African Bank.”
The acquisition strengthens Access Bank’s presence in Africa, as the Angolan market becomes a huge addition to its expanding portfolio.
Also, transactions related to the purchase of StanChart’s subsidiaries in the Gambia, Cameroon, and its consumer and private banking operations in Tanzania are expected to be completed soon, further enhancing Access Bank’s footprint across the continent.
The new acquisitions come with the advantage that could help “strengthen the quality of our earnings from both countries by significantly growing our share of the Corporate and SME banking in the two markets,” said Roosevelt Ogbonna.
“The combinations represent another significant step towards our broader vision of becoming the World’s Most Respected African Bank,” he further added.
Moreover, West Africa’s biggest lender by assets is constantly deepening its foothold in Southern Africa, regarded as the continent’s most lucrative region for banking business.
StanChart’s determination to sell off a good number of its banking assets matches Access Holdings’ hunger to scale at a time when the African Continental Free Trade Area is promising businesses unprecedented access to trade flows within Africa.
The London-based financial institution disclosed on Wednesday it is considering selling its wealth and retail banking operations in Zambia, Botswana and Uganda to finance “incremental investment in its leading wealth management business.”
In October, Mr Ogbonna said during a parley with newsmen that Access Bank will issue its maiden dollar bond in two tranches in Nigeria beginning next year.
