CBN clears Access Bank to establish subsidiary in Cameroon

Access Bank has notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange of its intention to establish a subsidiary in Cameroon, three months after acquiring a bank in Kenya. The Nigerian lender said it had finalised its expansion move to the Central Africa state, as it had received approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In a statement issued to the NSE, Access Bank states that the company obtained a ‘No Objection’ to its expansion plan, meaning its expansion would now be determined by the regulatory body in Cameroon.

The company said, “It has obtained the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ‘No Objection’ to its proposed expansion into the Republic of Cameroon through the setting up of a banking subsidiary. The proposed expansion which is subject to the approvals of the regulatory authorities in the Republic of Cameroon is in pursuance of the Bank’s strategic objective to become Africa’s Gateway to the World. We are currently awaiting the regulatory approvals and will provide the market with updates in due course.”

Access Bank’s expansion plan: Launched in 2019, the bank’s operation has been taken out of the shores of Nigeria to other African countries. Its expansion has, however, been mostly driven by the inorganic growth method – the use of mergers and acquisitions to grow the customer base and revenue.

It merged with Diamond Bank to grow its revenue and customer base in Nigeria and penetrate the retail market. The merger reflected on Access Bank’s unaudited financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2019, which clearly showed positive figures across most financial indicators.

The lender recorded a profit of N90.73 billion for the nine-month period of 2019, compared to N62.91 billion recorded at the end of the nine-month period for 2018.
Source: Blueprint