Access Bank Plc
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Access Bank plc, commonly known as Access Bank, is a Nigerian multinational
commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with co ...
, owned by Access Bank Group. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the national banking regulator. Originally a corporate bank, they expanded into personal and business banking in 2012. Access Bank and Diamond Bank merged on April 1, 2019. In conclusion of its merger with Diamond Bank, Access Bank unveiled its new logo, signalling the commencement of a new enlarged banking entity. The bank employs more than 28,000 people in 2021. After the merger, with more than 42 million of customers, Access Bank plc became the largest bank in Africa by customer base, and the largest bank in Nigeria by asset.


Access Bank Group

in addition to Nigeria, Access Bank plc has subsidiaries in Mozambique, Zambia, Congo, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Access Bank Group also maintains representative offices in China,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
and
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
.


African expansion

In early 2021, Access Bank announced that it had identified eight new African countries for potential expansion, seeking to benefit from a continent-wide free trade agreement. The target markets are Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Côte d'Ivoire,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
,
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
,
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
and
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, which would extend the international presence of the bank to 18 countries. Access Bank is expected to establish offices in some countries and in others, should partner with existing banks and leverage its digital platforms to provide services to clients.


French and European expansion

In July 2021, the French government manifested its will to strengthen its ties with Nigerian captains of industry including Herbert Wigwe, the group managing director of Access Bank, and announced that an agreement had been signed which would allow the group to settle in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. This agreement confirms the group's vision and desire to extend its influence and activities to all of France and gradually to all of Europe. The opening of Access Bank in Paris will be managed by the group's London branch, headed by Britain's Jamie Simmonds. The new offices in France will focus on trade finance. The Nigerian bank is also considering embarking on investment and
wealth management Wealth management (WM) or wealth management advisory (WMA) is an investment advisory service that provides financial management and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high ...
services.


Overview

Access Bank plc is a large financial-services provider. In June 2021, the bank had an asset base in excess of US $25,5 billion (NGN: 10,055 trillion), and shareholders' equity valued at approximately US$1.87 billion (NGN: 775 billion). (Note that US $1.00 = NGN 413 on 1 November 2021.)


History

The bank received its license from the Central Bank of Nigeria in 1989, and listed on the
Nigerian Stock Exchange The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) now Nigerian Exchange Group is a Nigerian stock exchange founded in 1961 in Lagos. As of November 2019, it has a total of 161 listed companies, with 8 domestic companies on the premium board, 144 companies on the ...
in 1998. *2002: Access Bank was taken over by a core of new management led by
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede FCIB, CON (born 24 September 1966) is a Nigerian banker, investor and philanthropist. He was the former group managing director (GMD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Access Bank Plc. He is the founder and chairman of C ...
and Herbert Wigwe. *2005: Access Bank acquired Marina Bank and Capital Bank (formerly commercial bank
Crédit Lyonnais The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th c ...
Nigeria) by merger. *2007: Access Bank established a subsidiary in Banjul,
The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
. This bank now has a head office and four branches, and the bank has pledged to open another four branches. *2008: Access Bank acquired 88% of the shares of Omnifinance Bank, which was established in 1996. It also acquired 90% of Banque Privée du Congo, which South African investors had established in 2002. Access Bank acquired 75% of the shares of Bancor SA, in Rwanda. Bancor had been established in 1995 and reorganized in 2001. In September, Access Bank opened a subsidiary in
Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...
, Sierra Leone, and then in October, the bank opened subsidiaries in Lusaka, Zambia and in London, United Kingdom. *2008: Finbank (Burundi) joined the Access Bank network, but exited the group in 2014. *2011: Access Bank was in talks with the Central Bank of Nigeria to acquire Intercontinental Bank plc. *Intercontinental Bank became a subsidiary of Access Bank plc, which recapitalized the former and acquired a 75% majority interest in its stock. *The combined effect of the restoration of Net Asset Value (NAV) to zero by AMCON and N50billion capital injection by Access Bank plc is that Intercontinental Bank now operates as a well-capitalized bank, with shareholders funds of N50billion and Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 24%, well above the 10% regulatory threshold. *January 2012: Access Bank announced the conclusion of its acquisition of the former Intercontinental Bank, creating an expanded Access Bank, one of the largest four commercial banks in
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
with over 5.7 million customers, 309 branches and over 1,600
Automated Teller Machines An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fund ...
(ATMs). *2012: The London High Court indicted former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Erastus Akingbola to refund over $1 billion to Access Bank. *2018: In December 2018, Access Bank PLC acquires Diamond Bank, the board of Diamond Bank announces that her merger with Access Bank Plc expected to be completed in first half of 2019. *2020: Access Bank acquires Kenya’s Transnational Bank, including 100 percent of shareholding and 28 branches around Kenya. *2020: In October, Access Bank receives regulatory approval to establish Access Bank Mozambique. Plans were also announced of the Group transforming into a
Holding Company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
and entering South Africa.


Locations

The bank's headquarters is located at 14/15, Prince Alaba Abiodun Oniru Road, Victoria Island, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria in the city of
Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
, the most commercial city of Nigeria. The coordinates of the bank's headquarters are: 6.4333751, 3.4453135.


See also

*
List of banks in Nigeria This is a list of commercial banks with International Authorization in Nigeria, arranged alphabetically: # Access Bank Plc # Fidelity Bank Plc # First City Monument Bank Limited # First Bank of Nigeria Limited # Guaranty Trust Holding Company ...
* Access Bank Group * Intercontinental Bank


References

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External links


Access Bank Plc
Banks of Nigeria Access Bank Group Companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange Banks established in 1989 Victoria Island, Lagos Companies based in Lagos 2013 mergers and acquisitions 2019 mergers and acquisitions Nigerian companies established in 1989