By Nnanta Christopher InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Access Bank Plc Monday announced the conclusion of its acquisition of Intercontinental Bank Plc; emerging as an African Financial Powerhouse with a customer base of 5.7 million.
This was contained in a Statement from the Bank made available to www.investadvocateng.com by Fafore Olusegun Michael of the Public Relation and Media unit.
“Access Bank Plc today announces the completion of its acquisition of Intercontinental Bank as the two Financial Institutions merged into a single entity†the Statement said.
According to the Statement, this is coming on the heels of the approvals of all the relevant Regulatory Authorities, the Judiciary and Shareholders of the Bank.
“Consequently, upon gazetting, Intercontinental Bank stands dissolved without being wound up and all its assets and liabilities are now vested in Access Bank Plc. This transaction creates a formidable Nigerian financial institution comfortably positioned in the top four (4) ranking of the country’s financial institutions by most metrics†the Statement affirmed.
Access Bank further affirmed that the merger has repositioned the Nigerian Banking Sector on the African continent as the combined entity that has the potential of ranking amongst Africa’s top 10 banks according to The Bankers’ Magazine’s review of top African banks in its current edition.
“Some salient facts about the combined entity presented are a Customer Base of 5.7 million, Branch Network of 309, an Asset Base of N2, 018,018,714,000.
Other salient facts from The Bankers Magazine are Capital Adequacy ratio of 18.55 percent (18.55%) and a Liquidity Ratio of 76%.
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO), Access Bank in his reaction to the development said the conclusion of the acquisition and merger transaction is a significant step forward for the Nigerian banking Sector; “it has preserved thousands of Nigerian jobs, protected the savings of millions of Nigerian citizens and lays the foundation for the creation of a truly great, African Bank. It brings together the proven prudential management of Access Bank and the extensive geographical footprint of Intercontinental Bank, with one of the largest networks of branches and ATMs†Aig-Imoukhuede said.
“All our people have worked hard to deliver this successful integration and the speed and efficiency with which it has been accomplished is a testament to the quality of our management team. Importantly, our customers have experienced minimal disruption and we would like to express our sincere appreciation to them for enabling this successful combination†the Access Bank GMD said.
Aig-Imoukhuede also affirmed that the 5.7 million customers of the Combined Bank will benefit from a product range which blends the very best of both Access and Intercontinental Banks products.
“Customers will also benefit from an expanded network of 309 branches along with a network of 1600 ATMs across Nigeria. To ensure that the 5.7 million customers of the Bank enjoy superior banking services, Access Bank is committing significant human and financial resources to customer and other stakeholder engagement via its world-class Contact Centre, SMS, and online banking to ensure seamless transaction and impressive experience at any contact with the Bank†he said.
Access Bank said some Analysts have opined that the integration has the potential of increasing the Bank’s operational costs and depleting earnings in the near term; they will be pleased to learn that Access Bank management has swiftly implemented the integration imperatives, particularly cost management measures and eliminated duplicities in systems, infrastructure and resources.
On the future of the Bank, Aig-Imoukhuede said its speed of integration proves that they have an excellent team that can perform under pressure. “We are now focused on building a truly sustainable Nigeria Bank that works for its customers, shareholders and the communities where we operate; a Bank which is poised to be Africa’s most respected bank†he said.
