Access Holdings seals deal to buy Standard Chartered Bank subsidiaries in four African countries

Standard Chartered has agreed to sell its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, Gambia and Sierra Leone to Access Bank, the subsidiary of Access Holdings.

The deal between Access Bank and Standard Chartered will enable the Nigerian financial institution to bridge the gap between cross-border and domestic transfers across all business segments.

The agreement was disclosed in a corporate filing Access Holdings sent to the capital market authority, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), on Friday.

Recall that Access Bank had also reached a definitive agreement for the acquisition of a majority equity stake in African Banking Corporation (Tanzania) Limited.

According to Access Holdings, both transactions are expected to be completed over the next 12 months, as they await regulatory approvals.

Although Tanzania’s banking regulator has granted its approval in favour of the BancABC Tanzania acquisition, however, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is yet to give approval.

Commenting on the agreement, the MD of Access Bank, Roosevelt Ogbonna, said: “For Access Bank, these Transactions represent a key step in our journey to build a strong global franchise focused on serving as a gateway for payments, investment, and trade within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world as we continue to deliver on our vision to be the World’s Most Respected African Bank.

“Our 5-year growth plan will see us build a world-class payments gateway leveraging the power of technology and supported by a dynamic ecosystem of local and international partnerships, enabling us to serve global payments and remittances efficiently. With our recent European expansion and our deepened presence in key trading corridors across Africa, we will bridge the gap between cross-border and domestic transfers across all business segments. More importantly, we are committed to impacting our host communities positively.”

Also, the Group Chief Executive of Access Holdings said, Herbert Wigwe, said: “The Transactions mark a significant leap forward for Access Bank and reinforces our strategy of strengthening our footprint across Sub-Saharan Africa to harness synergistic opportunities for sustainable income diversification and profitability.

“We remain committed to our five-year strategy, which envisions our banking subsidiary emerging as a true leader in banking services across the African continent.”