Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria’s second-largest lender by value, is moving ahead with plans to expand in Africa starting with Ivory Coast after its Recapitalisation.
Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji the GMD/CEO of Zenith Bank said, at a presentation at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) last year, that Zenith Bank had recently obtained a license to open a Paris, France branch which would be leveraged for operations in Francophone Africa beginning with Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire.
The lender is considering setting up new operations or buying existing ones in the West African Economic and Monetary Union and the Economic Community of Central African States, before moving to other parts of the continent, Olukayode Akinbinu, head of strategy, who is leading the expansion plans, said in an interview.
Ivory Coast is likely to open this year, then Cameroon “as soon as possible,” Akinbinu said.
Zenith Bank plans to invest 40% of the N350.5 billion ($231 million) it raised this year — to meet minimum capital thresholds set by the Central Bank of Nigeria — to expand overseas.
Ivory Coast, West Africa’s second-largest economy, has expanded an average 6.7% in the past five years and is still one of the fastest growing in the world.
Expanding global footprint
Zenith Bank is today present in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, United Kingdom, China, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
All of Zenith’s subsidiaries are profitable and contributing to the growth of the Group, according to Umeoji.
The lender’s shares have advanced 43% this year, outperforming the 35% return of the Nigerian Exchange All Share Index for the same period.
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