Ecobank, Standard Chartered lead in Capital Importation to Nigeria in Q3

Ecobank Nigeria and the local unit of Standard Chartered Bank have joined Stanbic IBTC Bank to become foreign investors’ favourites for investment deals, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.

Details of the Bureau report showed that out of 26 banks that foreign investors used to deploy foreign capital into the country, the most investment came through Stanbic IBTC Bank. The bank attracted $1.63bn worth of investment in the third quarter of this year, lower than $1.76 billion it had in the previous quarter.

Ecobank followed with $754.38m worth of foreign investment, while Standard Chartered Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based Standard Chartered Bank occupied the third position by attracting $502.47m inflows. Access Bank got $477.55m; Rand Merchant Bank, $430.15m; Citibank Nigeria Limited; $350.95m; while First Bank of Nigeria had $307.94 million.

According to NBS, while the total value of capital importation into the Nigerian economy fell by 7.78 percent to $5.36 billion in the third quarter of 2019 from the previous quarter, Ecobank Nigeria attracted $754.38 million worth of foreign investment, representing 55.41 percent more capital thus making the bank foreign investors’ favourites for investment deals.

Commenting, Adetokunbo Uko, Country Treasurer, Ecobank Nigeria, said the Bank was leveraging on its pan-African strategy to attract capital into the nation’s economy, stressing that the Bank remains committed to increasing capital flows to Nigerian financial market.

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According to her, “As a gateway to the African market for foreign direct and portfolio investments, Ecobank Nigeria is leveraging on its Pan-African platform, people and products to contribute to the financial and economic development of Nigeria through provision of foreign exchange solutions and fixed-income products to local and foreign customers.”

She added that the bank remained “committed to our African strategy, to increase capital flows to Nigerian financial market through enhanced product offerings, good customer experience and transparency in all transactions”.

She restated the bank’s commitment to redouble its efforts on all fronts to remain foreign investors’ favourite for investment deals and also claim its rightful position in the industry.

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.