Access Bank Acquires Standard Chartered’s Angola, Sierra Leone Units.

Access Bank Plc announced it has completed the acquisition of Standard Chartered’s subsidiaries in Angola and Sierra Leone.

The financial institution revealed this in a statement issued on Wednesday, signed by Company Secretary Sunday Ekwochi.

In July 2023, Access Bank Plc and Standard Chartered Bank entered agreements for the acquisition of Standard Chartered’s shareholding in subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and its consumer, private, and business banking business in Tanzania.

Each transaction was subject to approval from the respective local regulators and the banking regulator in Nigeria. On Wednesday, Access Bank confirmed the completion of two of these transactions.

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Commenting on the milestone, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc and CEO of the Banking Group, Roosevelt Ogbonna, said, “We are pleased to have successfully concluded two important acquisitions in Angola and Sierra Leone, affording us synergies to strengthen the quality of our earnings from both countries by significantly growing our share of the Corporate and SME banking in the two markets.

“The combinations represent another significant step towards our broader vision of becoming the world’s most respected African bank.”

The parties are working towards completing transactions to see Access Bank acquire Standard Chartered Bank’s subsidiaries in Cameroon, The Gambia, and its Consumer, Private, and Business Banking business in Tanzania.

Access Bank has been actively acquiring banks across Africa to expand its operational footprint on the continent and beyond.

Meanwhile, Access Bank UK has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Afrasia Bank Limited, the fourth largest bank by total assets in the Republic of Mauritius, with assets totaling $5.7 billion as of mid-2024.

Access Bank UK, a subsidiary of Nigeria’s Access Holdings, plans to leverage Mauritius as a strategic hub for trade finance, wealth management, and corporate banking services.