Access Bank has completed the acquisition of majority shares of Finibanco (an Angola Commercial Bank) and is also set to acquire the sub-Saharan subsidiaries of Standard Chartered Bank. These deals will see Access Bank expand its territorial dominance across Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. With total assets of about N15 trillion, Access Bank is leading as Nigeria’s biggest financial service group and is not looking to slow down as it acquires Finibanco, which currently has about 20 branches and about $300 million in assets in Angola.
These strategic deals will grant Access Bank market access and improve the banking experience of many customers in this region. The company can now offer a full range of accessible, fast, and secure banking services. Also, Access Bank can leverage the Finibanco and Standard Chartered established network to merge market powers and exercise dominance. Access Bank now has the opportunity to initiate greater innovation and deepen financial inclusion across the regions in sub-Saharan Africa.
Standard Chartered will look to reap profit returns from the deal as it faces other regions of great potential away from Africa and the Middle East. The bank has stated that its agreement with Access Bank is part of its global strategy to achieve operational efficiency, reduce complexity, and drive scale. Both deals are still subject to regulatory approvals in Nigeria.
