The CEO of Access Bank's holding company told Semafor Africa that the bank, one of the largest in Africa, is almost done with the regulatory process needed to open its first complete banking service in Asia in the first quarter of 2024.
The Asian bank's development plan is a component of a larger global expansion strategy that also includes plans to deepen its presence in Francophone Africa, forge stronger connections with North Africa, and expand throughout Europe, where it already operates wholesale banking facilities in London and Paris, which debuted in May.
The CEO of Access Holdings, the firm that owns Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, stated that he and his colleagues anticipate hearing back from the financial authorities "by this side of Christmas." To avoid ahead of local regulators, Wigwe would not identify the bank's debut location; however, he did say, "We will definitely be in Asia by the first quarter of next year."
Instead of doing retail banking with individuals, Access has utilized a corporate-to-corporate wholesale banking strategy outside of Africa.
Through an aggressive and ambitious acquisition strategy, Wigwe and others in his team transformed Access from a small Nigerian operator into the largest banking group in the nation. By the end of 2022, the lender will hold 16% of the assets in the banking sector, according to ratings agency Fitch.
Over the past five years, it has also spread quickly over the continent. Most recently, it acquired Standard Chartered's banking businesses in Tanzania, Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone.
Access's share price on the Lagos stock exchange has doubled since the beginning of the year, giving it a market valuation of over 614 billion naira ($762 billion). At the end of September, the company's financial sheet showed total assets of 21.3 trillion naira ($26.5 billion).
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