First Bank is looking to expand to at least three African countries in its next growth phase as financial systems across the continent open up new opportunities.
The countries being targeted include Ethiopia, Angola, Cameroon, and Cote d’Ivoire.
Speaking in a recent The Africa Report, the Deputy Managing Director of the bank, Ini Ebong, said, “There are a number of large economies with large banking pools that are of interest to us because their financial markets are opening up.
“So, you look at countries like Ethiopia and Angola. In francophone West Africa, we want to expand our presence in places like Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. The market opportunity is there, and we seek to continue to exploit it.”
Ebong asserted that there are growing opportunities in markets across the African continent looking similar to “what we saw in the early 2000s in some of the larger African markets.” “We believe it is an opportune time to take part in the phase of growth that we see.”
In December, the Ethiopian parliament recently passed a law that allows foreign banks to open subsidiaries in Ethiopia. Foreign firms will only be allowed to own 49 per cent of shares.
Speaking during a panel session at the Africa Financial Industry Summit, the
Ethiopia’s central bank governor, Mamo Mihretu, said the country had been working on the legislation that would finally open the banking sector to foreign competition over the past year.
After the ratification of the legislation by the parliament, the largest economy in East Africa is “open for business” for any banks looking to come into the country, Mihretu said.
FirstBank, which has been operating in Nigeria for 130 years, began establishing subsidiaries in other African markets in 2011 when it acquired Banque International de Credit, one of the leading banks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In November 2013, it acquired subsidiaries of International Commercial Bank Financial Group Holdings AG (ICBFGH) in The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Guinea.
It purchased ICB Senegal in the following year, completing its acquisition of West African assets and operations of ICBFGH.
FirstBank also has operations in London and Paris, France, as well as a representative office in Beijing, China.
