Regulators approve Access Bank Zambia, African Banking Corporation's mergers

Access Holdings Plc has announced that the regulators have given the final approval for the mergers and acquisitions between Access Bank Zambia Limited, a subsidiary of its flagship subsidiary, Access Bank Plc , and the African Banking Corporation Zambia Limited (“Atlas Mara Zambia”).

The bank said this on Friday in a statement signed by Sunday Ekwochi, company secretary.

The Central Bank of Nigeria and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Competition Commission had earlier granted their “no objection” to the Transaction in 2022.

Access Zambia will now move towards integrating and merging Atlas Mara Zambia into its operations, which is expected to create one of the top five banks in Zambian .

Commenting on the transaction, Herbert Wigwe, Group Chief Executive Access Holdings said: “The transaction builds on our earlier acquisition and merger of Cavmont Bank Plc into Access Bank Zambia and underscores our resolve to strengthen our presence in Zambia, a key African market that fits into our strategic focus on geographic earnings growth and diversification.

The combination of the two banks will create significant synergies between Access Zambia’s world class wholesale and transaction banking capabilities and Atlas Mara Zambia’s market leading retail and public sector capabilities to form a market leading universal banking platform that will greatly impact the Zambia market”

The Transaction is expected to be completed in Q3, 2023, the statement said.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.