Access Bank to acquires HoldCo, targets eight African countries in expansion drive

Access Bank Plc has said that its decision to adopt a Holding Company (Holdco) structure is partly driven by the need to harness vast opportunities in Africa, hence the need to expand its footprint on the continent.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which came into effect on January 1, 2021, provides the impetus to unlock such opportunities, the bank said.

Accordingly, the bank plans to establish operations in eight countries, namely Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Angola, Namibia and Ethiopia.

The Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe also disclosed this during an investor call event in Lagos, noted that the bank already has presence in 12 countries following a series of acquisitions across the continent.

He noted that the bank will set up offices in some countries and in others go into partnerships with existing banks or leverage on its digital platforms to provide services to customers.

Wigwe said that the company would realign for growth through transitioning to a HoldCo to capture continent-wide opportuinites and support the international expansion.

He said the HoldCo would consist of four subsidiaries namely Access Bank Group, payment business, consumer lending and agency banking as well as insurance brokerage.

The bank would, in partnership with Coronation Insurance, offer insurance products and services to its customers, the largest in Nigeria. Wigwe said the Access Bank-Coronation Insurance bancassurance is already available in Nigeria and Ghana.

The insurance subsidiary would adopt a dynamic and creative approach to deliver value-added services focused to meet customer insurance needs, he assured.

He added that the bank planned to open subsidiaries in consumer lending and agency banking to enhance revenue.

Wigwe noted that the bank’s Africa strategy was supported by its presence in key international markets.

He explained that the strategy would enable the bank diversify earnings away from the volatile operating environments in Africa and orchestrate operations as a global payments gateway.

Wigwe added that it would the company to manage its risk and exposures to soft currencies and enhance profitability without excess risk.

He said that the bank had the largest customer base in Africa, with significant share (44 per cent) digitally active, adding that the bank’s number of customers in the third quarter of 2020 stood at 42 million, with 46 million accounts.

The bank chief said the bank had 633 branches and a very strong digital footprint with 53,440 POS, nine million USSD users, 9.5million on mobile applications and about 3,000 ATMs, among others.