Access Bank has completed its acquisition of BancABC Tanzania, with the transaction closing on 10 June 2024, almost eleven months after it was first announced in July 2023. The completion was confirmed in a statement published by Access Holdings Plc, the parent group of Access Bank, on its website. With the deal closed, BancABC Tanzania is to be merged with the consumer, private and business banking operations of Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania to form a new entity to be known as Access Bank Tanzania.
The transaction required regulatory approval from Tanzanian authorities before it could be completed.
A 'RAILROAD' FOR INTRA-AFRICAN TRADE
Access Bank CEO Roosevelt Ogbonna described the deal as 'a notable step towards setting a railroad in Tanzania for intra-African trade within the East African region, Africa and the rest of the world'.
The Access Bank Tanzania name is to be adopted by the combined entity once the Standard Chartered transaction completes.
PLANNED MERGER WITH STANDARD CHARTERED CONSUMER UNIT
The BancABC Tanzania acquisition is not the final step in Access Bank's Tanzanian strategy. According to the Access Holdings announcement, BancABC's operations will be merged with the consumer, private and business banking operations of Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania at completion of that separate transaction, forming Access Bank Tanzania. The planned merger would combine BancABC Tanzania's existing operations with the retail and consumer banking assets, customer relationships, and branch network of Standard Chartered's Tanzanian consumer unit.
Access Holdings did not provide a specific timeline for the closing of the Standard Chartered consumer banking transaction in its 10 June statement, noting only that the merger to form Access Bank Tanzania would take place upon completion of that deal.