Access Holdings has announced that it will reduce equity stakes in some of its foreign subsidiaries after a new Central Bank of Nigeria rule capped Nigerian banks’ investments in overseas operations at 10 percent of shareholders’ funds.
Roosevelt Ogbonna, chief executive of Access Bank, disclosed during an investor call that the group had been given a 12-month timeline to comply with the regulation under Section 19(8) of the CBN guidelines governing financial holding companies.
“As of 2025, the foreign matter was flagged under Section 19 subsection 8, which limits investment in foreign banking subsidiaries to 10 percent of shareholders’ funds,” Ogbonna said. “The holding company has been given a 12-month window to fully remediate this, and we are fully engaging with the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure this is resolved.”
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The disclosure comes as Access Holdings deepens its international expansion strategy through acquisitions across Africa. In 2025 alone, the group completed three major transactions, including the acquisition of a 74.9 percent stake in Standard Chartered Bank’s Gambian subsidiary for N9.5 billion, the purchase of Standard Chartered’s consumer and business banking operations in Tanzania for N14 billion, and a 76 percent stake in AfrAsia Bank in Mauritius through Access Bank UK for N611.1 billion.
The group said it would now rebalance parts of its foreign ownership structure while maintaining operations across its international network.
The regulatory issue also delayed dividend payments for the 2025 financial year despite the board approving both interim and final dividends, subject to regulatory clearance.
“For the half year, the constraints related to Section 7.1 of the CBN Guidelines for Financial Holding Companies have now been cured following the private placement we did towards the end of 2025,” he said during the call.
The company added that it maintains sufficient capital and liquidity buffers to support dividend payments once the regulatory conditions are resolved.
The investor call also showed that Access Holdings closed 2025 with balance sheet expansion across its banking and non-banking businesses despite rising impairment charges linked to loan forbearance exposures.
Gross earnings rose 13.3 percent to N5.5 trillion, driven by growth in interest income, fees and commissions, and other income. Fees and commissions increased 40.9 percent year-on-year, while the cost-to-income ratio improved to 51.7 percent from 56.7 percent in 2024.
“Our management is now focused on enhancing earnings quality, improving asset productivity, and driving sustainable returns,” Ogbonna said.
Total assets increased by 24.2 percent to N15.6 trillion, while customer deposits rose 23.4 percent to N34.6 trillion, supported partly by the integration of newly acquired subsidiaries. Loans and advances to customers climbed 16.1 percent to N13.3 trillion.
The banking business remained the largest contributor to earnings, accounting for 97 percent of group revenue.
Geographically, Nigeria contributed 62 percent of gross earnings, down from 65 percent in 2024, while the rest of Africa and international operations increased their contribution to 25 percent and 30 percent respectively, reflecting the growing role of the group’s pan-African operations.
Profit before tax from banking operations rose 7 percent to N954 billion, with Nigeria accounting for 48 percent of profits while African and international businesses contributed a combined 52 percent.
Interest income remained the largest earnings driver at N3.5 trillion, representing 66 percent of gross earnings. Fee and commission income increased 48 percent year-on-year, while other income rose 33 percent to N1.14 trillion.
Operating expenses increased 12 percent to N1.58 trillion due largely to personnel costs tied to acquisitions and business expansion. However, management said integration and operational optimisation helped improve efficiency ratios.
Asset quality remained broadly stable, with non-performing loans increasing marginally from 2.76 percent to 2.82 percent. Impairment charges, however, rose sharply to N303 billion from N99 billion in 2024 due to the expiration of regulatory forbearance arrangements, pushing cost of risk to 2.03 percent from 0.89 percent.
The group’s gross loan book expanded to N16.2 trillion from N13.1 trillion, driven mainly by corporate lending, which rose 45 percent to N10.2 trillion and accounted for 63 percent of total loans.
Access Holdings also reported a decline in cost of funds to 4.6 percent from 7.7 percent as low-cost current and savings account deposits remained the dominant funding source.
Capital adequacy ratio for the group remained stable at 18.3 percent, while the banking subsidiary’s ratio improved to 21 percent from 20.2 percent.
Looking ahead, the group said it expects return on equity to exceed 20 percent and return on assets to rise above 2 percent, supported by improved earnings quality, cost efficiency, and capital allocation.
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Management also projected a further reduction in the cost-to-income ratio between 50 percent and 25 percent, as revenue growth continues to outpace costs, supported by digital scale and ongoing efficiency initiatives.
“Net interest margin is expected to improve to up to above 5 percent, driven by better pricing discipline and continued optimization of our funding groups. At the same time, we expect to maintain a strong capital position with a capital adequacy ratio in the range of 18-20 percent and a liability ratio above 40 percent, supported by continued deposit growth and proactive partnership management,” he said.