According to a report, Access Bank is close to finalizing a regulatory process to launch its first full banking service in Asia in the first quarter of 2024, the chief executive of its holding company told Semafor Africa.
The Asian expansion is part of a larger global development strategy that also includes plans to deepen its presence in Francophone Africa and forge stronger connections with North Africa and Europe, where it currently operates wholesale banking operations with openings in May in London and Paris.
Herbert Wigwe, the CEO of Access Holdings, stated that he and his colleagues anticipate hearing back from the financial authorities next month. In his statement, Wigwe declined to confirm the country in which the bank would launch.
According to Wigwe, the expansion to Asia by Access Bank was made to better serve its Asian-based clients. “We’re following that chain of trade; these are trade hubs where people come from across the continent, set up businesses, and trade from there. The big advantage is that we gain access to capital and trade,” said Wigwe.
With its share price doubling on the Lagos stock exchange since the beginning of the year, Access, whose total assets on its balance sheet at the end of September were 21.3 trillion Naira ($26.5 billion), has a market valuation of about 614 billion Naira.
Over the past five years, it has also spread quickly over the continent. Most recently, it acquired Standard Chartered’s banking businesses in Tanzania, Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone.
The CEO views an Asian bank as “supporting overall network effects” based on the existing activities of its clientele in the area. Above all, though, he stressed that access to “huge pools of capital” would not normally be possible in African markets. “There is therefore brand recognition and a real business supporting trade by being present in these markets.”
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