Nigeria’s largest lender, Access Bank has said that it has secured full regulatory approval for its proposed acquisition of majority equity stake in the Kenya-based Transnational Bank Ltd (TNB).
Access Bank disclosed in a statement issued to Confiance News on Sunday.
The Nigeria-based lender had in October 2019 announced that it had secured a ‘no objection’ of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s apex bank, to its proposed acquisition of TNB.
The acquisition, Confiance News gathered, is in line with the Bank’s strategic objective of becoming Africa’s Gateway to the World.
According to Access Bank, “The entry into the Kenyan market ties into the Bank’s strategy to establish footprints in key African markets and will complement its existing franchise in Rwanda, Congo DRC and Zambia in the Eastern and Southern African frontiers.”
TNB is a medium-sized commercial Bank with great focus on the agricultural sector and a significant retail footprint.
Reacting to the acquisition, the Group Managing Director (GMD), Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe said: “This acquisition aligns with our strategy to become Africa’s Gateway to the World and we are excited about the potential that resides in the East African market. We will leverage our presence in key payment corridors; strong partnerships in non-presence countries; robust technology platform as well as world-class risk management to provide cutting edge financial solutions to our clients.”
“We will build on TNB’s existing expertise in agricultural financing and deploy our resources to optimise other business segments. We are committed to supporting the growth and development of our host community in line with our sustainability ethos and certain that this acquisition will deliver great value to our stakeholders.
Following the receipt of regulatory approval, we are very confident that the transaction will be completed shortly.”
