Access Holdings ends acquisition era, targets higher returns for investors

The Group Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, has revealed that the financial institution is entering a new phase of its corporate evolution, with a renewed focus on delivering stronger value to shareholders after completing an aggressive expansion drive that spanned more than two decades.

Speaking during a media chat with financial journalists shortly after the group’s fourth Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos on June 10, Aig-Imoukhuede said Access Holdings’ long-term ambition is to become Nigeria’s equivalent of Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest banking institution by assets.

According to him, the group has concluded the scale-building phase of its growth strategy and is now concentrating on improving returns, earnings quality and overall shareholder value.

“Our ambition was not for people to see Access simply as a great bank and compare us with GTCO or Zenith. Our ambition was for Access to be seen as a great bank comparable to Standard Bank of Africa,” he stated.

Aig-Imoukhuede explained that Access Holdings’ current market valuation and share price performance cannot be separated from the aggressive acquisition strategy that transformed the bank from a relatively small player into one of Africa’s largest financial institutions.

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He noted that while Standard Bank spent nearly 170 years building its pan-African presence, Access Holdings compressed a similar growth trajectory into roughly three decades through a series of mergers and acquisitions.

Between 2002 and 2025, the group completed about 20 mergers and acquisitions, enabling it to establish operations across Africa and strengthen its international footprint.

“We’ve done the scale stage of the evolution. Now we’re doing the value part of it,” he said.

The chairman added that the group’s future performance benchmarks would increasingly be measured against Standard Bank’s key financial indicators, including return on equity, earnings per share and cost of risk.

He explained that repeated acquisitions required substantial capital raising exercises, which increased the bank’s share count and diluted earnings per share, ultimately affecting return on equity and share price appreciation.

According to him, investors often focus more on earnings per share and returns than on the absolute size of profits, meaning the expansion strategy naturally created short-term pressure on valuation metrics.

He cited the group’s recent acquisition of a Mauritius-based bank as an example of a strategic move that may temporarily impact returns but positions Access Holdings in highly lucrative international business corridors that remain inaccessible to most Sub-Saharan African banks outside South Africa.

Aig-Imoukhuede also addressed concerns regarding the group’s large share count, which has grown significantly due to successive capital raises undertaken to fund acquisitions and expansion projects.

With its acquisition-driven growth phase largely completed, the lender appears determined to shift investor attention from size and expansion to sustained earnings growth, stronger returns on equity and long-term value creation for shareholders.