NIGERIA · BANKING
Access Holdings, a Lagos-based banking group, is weighing whether to leave at least one foreign market so it can obey a Nigerian central bank limit. Its chairman, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said in an interview on the sidelines of the African Financial Industry Summit, a finance summit in Luanda, Angola, that he can think of one “troublesome” subsidiary.
The group has not named the unit, and for readers in the United States the case shows how a home-country rule can force an African bank to shrink its foreign network. Our report on the group’s nine-month results gives the financial background.
Key Facts
- What Access Holdings, a major Nigerian bank group, says it may exit one foreign unit.
- Why Nigeria’s central bank caps bank stakes in foreign banking units at 10% of shareholders’ funds, meaning owners’ money.
- The gap Access Bank, the group’s banking arm, held about 19.4% in May, nearly twice the limit.
- Already done Its banking arm sold 7.44% of its Ghana unit on Wednesday 15 July 2026.
- Not known The unit has not been named, and no exit terms are public.
What the Chairman Said
Aig-Imoukhuede said a unit that cannot earn its cost of capital or meet the group’s strategic goals should face an exit decision. He said he can think of one such “troublesome” subsidiary.
On timing, he said: “We gave ourselves up till January next year, and I think we’re completing this ahead of schedule.” He did not name the unit.
The Rule Behind the Move
The Central Bank of Nigeria, the country’s regulator, limits what a Nigerian bank may invest in its foreign banking subsidiaries to 10% of its shareholders’ funds, the money owners have put into the business. Access has disclosed that it is above that limit and has said it is working with the central bank to fix it.
Access Bank, the group’s banking arm, had overseas holdings of about 19.4% of shareholders’ funds in May 2026, nearly twice the limit. In May, Access said the central bank had given the holding company a 12-month window to fix the breach.
Three Ways to Cut Exposure
Innocent Ike, the group chief executive, set out three options. Access can bring surplus capital home from foreign subsidiaries, sell minority stakes, or restructure some businesses.
He said one capital-return exercise is already complete and that Access is talking to regulators in five countries about returning more. Reports put the regulatory deadline at March, while the chairman spoke of an internal target of January.
In Plain English
Subsidiary: a company that Access owns all or most of, such as its bank in Ghana.
Shareholders’ funds: the money owners have put in plus retained profit, a bank’s own cushion.
The Ghana Sale So Far
On Wednesday 15 July 2026, Access Bank Plc sold 12,085,318 shares, or 7.44%, of its unit Access Bank Ghana through the Ghana Stock Exchange, the country’s stock exchange. The sale had clearance from the Bank of Ghana, the country’s central bank, and analysts linked it to the Nigerian limit.
Access Bank Plc is the banking arm of Access Holdings and the seller in that deal. Pension funds and other institutional investors were among the buyers.
What It Means for You
Investors in Nigerian and wider African bank shares should watch which unit goes, because the choice will show how much of its foreign network the group is ready to give up. The outcome will matter most to people who hold Nigerian bank shares or bank across African borders.
Dividends are also in play, since Access said in May that its approved 2025 dividends awaited regulatory clearance. Our Access Holdings profile and our earlier story on how Access delayed its half-year results give more background on the group.
What Is Not Known
Access has not said which subsidiary it may exit, whether it would sell it, close it or merge it, or what it expects to receive. Until it does, the January and March dates are targets, not confirmed outcomes.
More: Africa news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Access Holdings considering leaving a foreign market?
A Central Bank of Nigeria limit caps a bank’s investment in foreign banking subsidiaries at 10% of shareholders’ funds. Access Bank was at about 19.4% in May, so it must cut its overseas exposure.
Which Access Holdings subsidiary might go?
Nobody has said. Chairman Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede referred to one “troublesome” subsidiary but did not name it, and no sale has been announced.
Has Access already sold any foreign stake?
Yes. On 15 July 2026 Access Bank Plc, the group’s banking arm, sold 7.44% of its unit Access Bank Ghana through the Ghana Stock Exchange, with the Bank of Ghana’s clearance.
Sources: Statements by Access Holdings chairman Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and group chief executive Innocent Ike, May and November 2026; the Central Bank of Nigeria limit as cited by Access; the Access Bank Ghana share sale of 15 July 2026 as disclosed by the company. Checked 9 November 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error