First Bank to Take Over ICB West Africa

FBN Holdings has said that one of its subsidiaries, First Bank of Nigeria Limited is proposing 100 per cent equity interest in the West African banking assets of International Commercial Bank (ICB) Financial Group Holdings in Ghana, Guinea, Gambia and Sierra Leone.

In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Friday, the company said the bank has received regulatory approvals for the transaction from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the regulators in the respective countries and hopes to conclude the transaction soon.

The Bank of Ghana had in September approved the acquisition, saying that the terms of the approval required the FBN to offl oad at least 40 per cent of the shares to Ghanaians through private placement or the Ghana Stock Exchange.

It said that at least 25 per cent of the shares are expected to be off-loaded latest by December 31, 2014, while the balance should be off loaded not later than December 2016.

The ICB is part of a group comprising a network of 12 banks spread through Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa.

The bank commenced operation in Ghana in 1996 with a focus on providing financial services to Small and Medium Scale enterprises.

Analysts said that the ICB’s acquisition by FBN is expected to give birth to one of the biggest SME- friendly banks in Ghana.

The FBN was two years ago rated the most valuable Nigerian bank and in 2012 the Brand Finance Banking League Tables rated it in the top 500 most valuable banking brands worldwide.