OUR 

HISTORY

25 years of profitable growth plus environmental responsibility and social relevance.
 

Our history

Access Bank Plc started out as a small Nigerian bank and today is a world-class African financial institution.
Access Bank Mozambique SA. is part of the Access Bank Plc Group, a multinational commercial bank based in Nigeria.
Originally a corporate bank, the organization acquired personal / business banking platforms from the International Commercial Bank of Nigeria in 2012, and is currently one of Nigeria's five largest banks in terms of assets, loans, deposits and branch network.
 
With the merger of the group with Diamond Bank, Access revealed its new logo, signaling the start of a new extended banking entity, thus becoming the largest bank in Africa.
As part of its strategy of continuous growth, Access Bank is focused on integrating sustainable business practices into its operations. The Bank strives to provide sustainable economic growth that is profitable, environmentally responsible and socially relevant.

The change

In March 2002, the Board of Directors appointed Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede as Managing Director / CEO and Herbert Wigwe as Deputy Managing Director. The mandate was clear: to reposition the bank as one of Nigeria's leading financial institutions within five years. This task was perceived by many as impossible, due to the reality of the Bank at the time.
At the same time, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, who brought a commendable and useful experience from the board obtained from some of Nigeria's leading companies, including MTN Nigeria, Okomu Oil Palm Plc, was also appointed to the Board. The new management team subsequently created a transformation strategy for Access Bank, which resulted in a departure from everything that characterized the Bank in the past and became the roadmap for its conversion into a world-class financial institution.

Our focus was:

  1. Assemble a credible and high caliber management team;
  2. Introduce a culture of excellence based on professionalism and integrity;
  3. Guarantee the development of human capital;
  4. Broaden the shareholder base;
  5. Introduce solid procedures and processes to boost the bank's daily activities;
  6. Create a passion for customer service in all employees;
  7. Establish a low cost liability generation strategy;
  8. Expand the branch network to cover all cleaning zones in Nigeria;
  9. Create a world-class brand.


The impact of the transformation was reflected in the first year. The bank increased its balance sheet by 100% and posted an impressive profit of 1 billion Naira (excluding taxes). Profit before taxes was higher than the accumulated profit obtained in the previous 12 years. This also marked the beginning of what would be a three-digit growth trend, the record for six years.

In recognition of the role of an improved capital structure, the bank began a capital raising exercise in July 2007, which was a complete success, registering over 300% of excess subscriptions. The public offering consisted of a $ 250 million over-the-counter placement in the RDA, with a 700% excess subscription. Today, the bank's shareholder fund exceeds 240 billion Naira, with an expanded shareholder base of over 1,000,000 domestic and foreign investors.

Building a strong digitally led retail bank was a fundamental pillar of Access Bank's ambitious growth strategy. In addition to consolidating his strengths in the corporate bank, in 2018 he saw the opportunity to accelerate his five-year plan with the merger of Diamond Bank, Nigeria's leading retail bank, with 19 million customers, including 10 million customers and a strong reputation for data analysis and technological innovation.

Access Bank is constantly looking for ways to expand its service platform across the African continent. The bank currently operates through a network of around 366 branches in major cities and shopping centers in Nigeria, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and currently in Mozambique.

Today, we are the largest bank in Nigeria and the African bank to lead in terms of customer base. We are also a full-service commercial bank, which operates through a network of more than 600 branches and service points, covering three continents, and 29 million customers.

It currently employs 28 million people in its operations in Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom, with representative offices in China, Lebanon, India and the United Arab Emirates.