BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

Access Bank Plc has announced the completion of its divestment from its Cote d ’Ivoire subsidiary, Access Bank Cote d’Ivoire, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s, CBN, directive that required Nigerian banks to either raise fresh capital from the offshore capital market to recapitalise their foreign subsidiaries or divest from them.

In a notice filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, the bank stated that the divestment was concluded via a direct sale of its entire equity holding in the subsidiary to a preferred bidder, Afriland First Group SA.
The bank further stated that all conditions for the completion of the transaction were achieved, including the receipt of regulatory approvals from both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Central Bank of West African States, BCEAO, adding that the impairments arising from the divestment have already been accounted for in the bank’s financials beginning from January 2013.