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Access Bank Plc has recently entered into an agreement to acquire the sub-Saharan subsidiaries of Standard Chartered Bank.
Access Bank will acquire Standard Chartered's Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, and Sierra Leone subsidiaries, consumer, private, and business banking business in Tanzania.
This acquisition aligns with Standard Chartered's strategy to withdraw from certain countries in Africa and the Middle East in order to focus on high-growth markets and improve profitability within the region.
Standard Chartered's Regional CEO for Africa and the Middle East, Sunil Kaushal, stated that this strategic decision allows the bank to reallocate resources to areas with significant growth potential within the region.
Access Bank, as part of the agreement, will ensure the continuation of banking services for key stakeholders, including employees and clients in the aforementioned countries.
The acquisition is in line with Standard Chartered's global strategy aimed at achieving operational efficiencies, reducing complexity, and driving scale.
Regulatory approvals from Nigeria and other countries where Standard Chartered operates will be required to finalize the deals.
Roosevelt Ogbonna, the Managing Director of Access Bank, emphasized that with the recent expansion in Europe and a strengthened presence in key trading corridors across Africa, the bank aims to bridge the gap between cross-border and domestic transfers across all business segments.
This acquisition follows Access Bank's majority equity stake acquisition in Finibanco Angola.
With regulatory approvals already obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Angolan Competition Authority, Access Holdings completed the acquisition of the bank.
Dr Herbert Wigwe, the Group CEO of Access Holdings, expressed confidence in leveraging their extensive distribution network, advanced technology, and robust risk and governance practices to serve high-growth businesses and the growing consumer sector in Angola.
This move aligns with their strategic growth objectives in the broader South Africa Development Community while delivering value to stakeholders and promoting innovation and the development of the financial sector in Angola.
