Brief history of Access bank plc in Nigeria
The history of access bank reflects 28 years of development. It includes many bad and good days for this bank. Nevertheless, even if it looks young compared to other banks, it certainly has its traditions! Let`s take a look at the history of Access Bank Nigeria!
History of Access Bank Plc
License issue
What is the history of Access Bank? The very first step for every bank in Nigeria is the license issue. In the history of Access Bank, the first date to remember is the date when it applied for license issue. This was on December 19, 1988. The bank received the license in 1989.
Privately Owned Commercial Bank
The bank was licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 1989. In that year, the bank was also incorporated as a privately owned institution. This commercial bank became a part of the Access Bank Group.
First Major Operation
The very first major success in the brief history of Access Bank Plc was on May 11, 1989. On that day, Access Bank launched its first financial operations from the Apapa Head Office.
Becoming a Public Limited Liability Company
The very first indications about Access Bank becoming a Public Limited Liability Company started at the beginning of the 1990s. However, the official date of the Bank becoming a Plc was March 1988. This development helped a lot in further decisions made by the bank.
Stock Exchange Market
The very first victory for the bank was on November 18, 1998. On this very date, a new chapter in the history of Access Bank Nigeria was opened. The bank opened its arms to the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market. The first success on the exchange market was obvious. Access bank conquered the attention of stockbrokers. This served to increased the trust of people who invested their money into this bank.
Universal Banking License
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Access Bank of Nigeria received its Universal Banking License from the Central Bank of Nigeria on February 5, 2001. It was a unique license which helped to increase trust in the eye of investors.
The Wind of Changes
In March 2002, the some changes came to Access Bank Nigeria! Aigboje-Imoukuedede was appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of the bank. The second revolutionary appointment was choosing the Deputy Managing Director – Herbert Wigwe. The Board Directors gave them only one task which is to transform the bank into one of the leading financial institutions in Nigeria. They had only five years to complete the task.
The new management team which was brought together by Mr. Gbenga Oyebode provided the following focuses of the bank for five years:
- Shareholder base should be enlarged;
- Assemble new management team that can change situation in the bank;
- Create a new brand for the bank;
- Create new branches of the bank;
- Provide a new low-cost strategy;
- Human Capital Development should be prioritized;
- Increase intercultural exchanges within the bank.
The impact of the changes was obvious in the first year after assembling a new management team. The profit in the first year of the plan was more than the profit made in the previous 12 years.
The growth of the bank was transformed into the real profits for its shareholders. This was also the year when the bank started to seek new ways of expanding. Access Bank Nigeria started to look at Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Gambia as new countries to expand their banking activities.
Marina Bank
In 2005, Access Bank acquired new banks in its reign. Capital Bank and Marina Bank became new members of Access Bank Group.
New Subsidiary
In 2007, Access Bank established new branches in Gambia. A new subsidiary branch was created in Banjul. For now, the bank has four branches in that country!
Conquers of new banks
Access Bank started a new line of the conquering new banks. In 2008, Access Bank took 88% of Omnifinance Bank. It was not the first victory for the bank. In the same year, Access Bank also bought 90% of Banque Privee du Congo. Finbank also joined the Access Bank Group in 2008. While 2008 was a year of crisis for the world, it became a year of success in the history of Access Bank.
Intercontinental Bank
Access Bank started a new wave of conquers in 2011. In that very year, Access Bank Plc started negotiations with the Central Bank of Nigeria about intercontinental Bank. Access Bank was interested in acquiring 75% of the bank.
In the year 2012, Intercontinental Bank was under the command of Access Bank Group. It was the year when Access bank became one of the four biggest banks in Nigeria.
The Awards of the Bank
The management of the Bank of Nigeria was rewarded with the Best Risk Management award in 2014. This award was provided through collaboration between the Risk Management Institute (UK) and Business Day.
Another major victory of the bank was the Credit Card Product of the Year award – which was presented at the Africa Awards Ceremony!
Access Bank Plc today
Today, it`s one of the biggest banks in Nigeria. It's the fourth largest commercial bank in Nigeria! It has over 830, 000 shareholders. For the last ten years, it holds the status of one of the top 20 banks by total assets in Africa. The total assets of the bank are more than $12.2 billion. It provides jobs to more than 9000 people in Nigeria!
The history of the bank is a story of ups and downs. Regardless, this story continues, and the bank only keeps on expanding its territories and enlarging its revenues. For today, it`s one of the biggest commercial banks in Nigeria!
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Source: Legit.ng
