Access Bank to acquire Standard Chartered’s subsidiaries in sub-Saharan Africa

Access Bank’s pan-African drive sees one other boon: an acquisition that would make it one of many continent’s topmost banks.

Access Bank has accomplished negotiations to acquire the sub-Saharan subsidiaries of Standard Chartered Bank for an undisclosed sum. This acquisition is in line with Standard Chartered’s plan to divest its companies in Africa.

The deal contains the sale of Standard Chartered’s stake in subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, and Sierra Leone to Access Bank. Additionally, Access Bank will acquire Standard Chartered’s client, personal, and enterprise banking enterprise in Tanzania. The deal, which is to be accomplished by 2024, excludes the sale of the financial institution’s Nigerian subsidiary.

“Access Bank will provide a full range of banking services and continuity for key stakeholders including employees and clients of Standard Chartered’s businesses across the five aforementioned countries,” Standard Chartered stated in an announcement.

Standard Chartered’s resolution to exit these international locations in Africa and the Middle East (AME) aligns with its technique to improve profitability by specializing in faster-growing markets in the area. The transaction stays topic to regulatory approvals in all 5 international locations.

Sunil Kaushal, Standard Chartered’s regional CEO for AME, stated the choice will permit the financial institution to deal with higher-growth areas. “This strategic decision allows us to redirect resources within the AME region to other areas with significant growth potential,” he stated.

Access Bank, alternatively, sees this acquisition as a possibility to construct a strong world franchise targeted on “serving as a gateway for payments, investment, and trade within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world”.

Commenting on the deal, Roosevelt Ogbonna, the Managing Director of Access Group, stated: “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.”

With this transfer, Access Bank, which is already Nigeria’s largest financial institution by asset will see its worth skyrocket because it takes a extra outstanding place in the African banking scene.

While this marks a boon for Access Bank, it underscores a rising development of European Banks leaving Africa. In October 2021, Atlas Mara left seven African markets it was working in. Credit Suisse adopted in February 2022, the identical month BNP Paribas of France lowered its African footprints. The widespread thread of excuse these banks give is that retail banking in Africa is high-risk and low-yielding. But it stays to be seen how deeply these assertions are affecting native African banks, like these in Nigeria, for instance, with inventory costs which have continued to go larger.