Access Bank is still under regulatory forbearance, a measure imposed by Nigeria’s Central Bank (CBN), that restricts certain financial actions like paying dividends, awarding bonuses to senior executives, or investing in foreign subsidiaries. This directive, issued in June 2025, is part of efforts to strengthen capital generation within the banking sector.
But on Monday, Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest lender by assets, quietly announced on one of its Instagram accounts that it has completed the acquisition of Standard Chartered Tanzania’s consumer, private, and business banking division.
This acquisition is key for Access Bank’s expansion across Africa, strengthening its earnings and fueling its ambition to become a pan-African heavyweight.
So, how does a bank under CBN’s restriction close an offshore deal? The answer: timing. Although it comes just weeks before Access is expected to exit forbearance on June 30, the deal itself predates the CBN directive. Access and Standard Chartered first announced this divestment back in 2022.
Standard Chartered, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom, has been gradually exiting select African markets to refocus its global wealth management and improve its profit.
Since 2022, Access Bank has been the buyer. Starting with the acquisition of the international bank’s Angolan and Sierra Leonean subsidiaries. Then a few days after CBN’s June directive, the bank assumed ownership of Standard Chartered’s Gambian operations, ending its 130-year presence in The Gambia. And now, it has taken over the international bank’s Tanzanian division.
Yet, the timing raises the question: will the CBN consider this a violation, or let it pass since the groundwork was laid years ago?
