Nigeria’s Access Bank consolidates pan-African ambition with acquisition of Kenyan bank

Nigeria’s Access Bank consolidates pan-African ambition with acquisition of Kenyan bank – The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has granted Access Bank, one of Nigeria’s largest banks, approval to acquire Kenyan lender, Transnational Bank, a development which will further consolidate the Nigerian lender as a pan-African bank.

According to Bloomberg News, CBK approved the planned takeover on Friday, October 25th, 2019, as part of an effort to consolidate the nation’s banking industry.

 

When completed, the deal will see Access Bank taking over 93.57% of the bank’s assets.

Transnational Bank is one of Kenya’s tier-4 banks and posted 58% jumped in non-performing loans to ($17.85 million) 1.85 billion Kenyan Shillings last year from Kshs. 1.17 billion.

In 2018, Transnational Bank posted a loss of $693,904, about 71.8 million Kenyan Shillings, according to its financial statement seen by Business Insider SA.

With this move, Access Bank may be capitalising on Transnational Bank’s interest in the agricultural sector. The acquisition will further cement its pan-African strategise by moving into East Africa’s largest economy.

In April 2019, Access Bank also completed a merger scheme with Diamond Bank in Nigeria. The arrangement saw Diamond Bank transferring all its assets, liabilities, and undertakings to Access Bank.

Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Bank, had said that the bank is pushing ahead to create Africa’s biggest retail institution and a formidable global powerhouse.