After Acquiring 20 Banks in 4 Years, Access Holdings Wants to Compete With Africa's Biggest Bank
- Access Holdings Chairman Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede says the company has completed its major acquisition and expansion phase across Africa
- The group is now focused on improving investor returns and wants to be measured against Africa’s largest bank, Standard Bank
- After completing about 20 mergers and acquisitions, Access Holdings is focused on profitability, efficiency and shareholder value
Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering energy, MSMEs, technology, banking and the economy.
Chairman of Access Holdings, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, says the financial group has completed the phase that transformed it into one of Africa’s largest banking institutions and is now turning its attention to delivering stronger value to shareholders.
Speaking to journalists after the company’s fourth annual general meeting in Lagos on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, Aig-Imoukhuede said the era of major acquisitions is largely over.
Source: UGC
According to Business Insider Africa, Aig-Imoukhuede said the group’s next priority is ensuring that its growth translates into better returns for investors.
He explained that Access Holdings now wants to be assessed not only against Nigerian banking rivals but also against Africa’s biggest financial institutions.
He said:
“Our ambition was not for you to see our performance in the lens of Access is a great bank and compare us to GTCO or Zenith. Our ambition was for you to see us as Access is a great bank, compare us to Standard Bank of Africa.”
Targeting Standard Bank’s league
Aig-Imoukhuede said Access Holdings’ ambition has always extended beyond competing with local banking giants.
Standard Bank Group is widely regarded as Africa’s largest bank by assets and one of the continent’s most profitable lenders.
With operations across more than 20 African countries and a presence in key global financial centres, it has long been seen as the benchmark for scale, profitability and cross-border banking in Africa.
The Access Holdings chairman believes the group has now reached a level where it can compete with and be measured against such institutions.
Two decades of acquisition-driven growth
The company’s rise has been largely powered by acquisitions and mergers over the past two decades.
Since taking charge of Access Bank in 2002, Aig-Imoukhuede, alongside the late Herbert Wigwe, led an aggressive expansion strategy that reshaped the bank’s footprint across Africa.
Major milestones included the acquisition of Intercontinental Bank, the merger with Diamond Bank in 2019, and several expansion deals that established Access Bank in markets such as Kenya, Botswana and South Africa.
According to the group, about 20 mergers and acquisitions were completed between 2002 and 2025, helping transform Access from a relatively small Nigerian lender into a leading pan-African financial institution.
Source: UGC
With the expansion phase largely completed, Access Holdings plans to focus on key performance indicators that matter most to investors, including return on equity, earnings per share and cost of risk.
While Nigeria remains its biggest market, Access Holdings’ subsidiaries across Africa are contributing an increasing share of earnings, suggesting that the benefits of its long-term continental growth strategy are beginning to pay off.
Access Bank takes over Standard Chartered Bank
Legit.ng reported that Nigeria’s banking giant, Access Bank, has completed the takeover of Standard Chartered Bank in The Gambia.
The takeover on June 13, 2025, will see Standard Chartered Bank cease to operate in The Gambia after 130 years of operations.
The governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Buah Saidy, disclosed this recently during a press conference at The Gambia’s apex bank’s headquarters in Banjul.
Source: Legit.ng
