Financial Mail and Business Day

Bank to woo African diaspora

Warren Thompson Financial Services Writer thompsonw@businesslive.co.za

Nigerian banking giant Access Bank intends to develop a full-suite banking offering for consumers and small businesses in SA after its acquisition of Grobank in May. “We want to be the natural home of Africans living in SA. There are 3-million registered people in the diaspora in SA. So there is a massive opportunity,” CEO of Access Bank SA Bennie van Rooy said.

Nigerian banking giant Access Bank intends to develop a fullsuite banking offering for consumers and small businesses in SA after its acquisition of Grobank in May.

The deal announced in September last year to acquire a 91% stake in Grobank, and rename it Access Bank SA, made it the first African bank to acquire a banking licence in SA.

“We will be much wider focused than just having an agricultural focus [Grobank’s traditional business]. We want to be the natural home of Africans living in SA. There are 3-million registered people in the diaspora in SA. So there is a massive opportunity to dominate in those segments,” CEO of Access Bank SA Bennie Van Rooy said.

The Nigerian-domiciled and listed Access Bank is one of the largest full-service banks in Africa, with a network of more than 600 branches and service outlets across 12 countries servicing 31-million customers.

The transition will allow Access Bank to expand its offering away from the narrow focus on agricultural companies and the food-chain industry in favour of broader-based offerings to consumers and small to medium enterprises.

Van Rooy said the entry level consumer banking offering being developed will provide a transactional account attached to a debit card for individuals who are part of communities that could include diaspora groups, stokvels and chambers of commerce.

“Lending will come later, but we certainly are not trying to get into the unsecured lending space like a Capitec,” Van Rooy said.

Much of the technology required to develop the offering, such as digital onboarding capabilities, will come from the parent company.

LENDING WILL COME LATER, BUT WE CERTAINLY ARE NOT TRYING TO GET INTO THE UNSECURED LENDING SPACE LIKE A CAPITEC

The bank also sees opportunity in the business banking space to provide a full service transactional banking offering for entities generating between R5m and R100m in revenue per annum. On the lending side it sees scope to provide traditional trade finance and structured commodity finance.

The acquisition is one of a number of deals designed to expand the group’s presence on the continent and follows the recent opening of an office in Zambia.

“This means Access Bank SA is firmly seated in one of the principal geographical areas apart from Nigeria, in terms of the size of the economy, and unlocks the gateway to the entire Southern African region,” Access Bank CEO Herbert Wigwe said.

The local board of the bank has been bolstered by the inclusion of former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene and former Eskom CEO Phakamani Hadebe.

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2021-06-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

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