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Access Holdings Plc led by Nigerian banker Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede has completed the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon, strengthening its network of local subsidiaries acquired from the British lender. The move follows the sale of Standard Chartered’s stakes in Angola, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Tanzania to the Nigerian lender.
Standard Chartered confirmed the completion of the sale in a statement issued on Dec. 5, 2025, noting that Access Bank, the flagship subsidiary of Access Holdings Plc now controls the Cameroonian operations. The acquisition will expand Access Bank Cameroon’s corporate and large-enterprise banking services and give customers access to a unified platform for payments and money transfers worldwide.
Standard Chartered exit boosts Access Bank
The deal follows Standard Chartered’s April 2022 announcement to simplify its Africa and Middle East operations. The British lender outlined full exits from Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Jordan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe while scaling back its consumer, private, and business banking operations in Tanzania and Cote d’Ivoire. Since then, Access Bank has acquired Standard Chartered’s stakes in Angola, Botswana, Zambia, Gambia and Sierra Leone, along with its Tanzanian operations.
Before the acquisition, Access Bank Cameroon served more than 22,000 customers, including businesses, individuals and merchants, through five branches in Douala and Yaoundé. The addition of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon is expected to increase Access Bank Cameroon’s customer base and enhance its offerings for both retail and corporate clients. In 2024, Access Bank Cameroon reported a significant growth in deposits, rising 85 percent from CFA79 billion ($140.3 million) in December 2023 to CFA146 billion ($259.3 million) a year later. Customer loans stood at CFA17 billion ($30.2 million).
Access Holdings hits $1.7 billion gross earnings
Headquartered in Lagos, Access Holdings serves more than 60 million customers across 20 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia. Since Aig-Imoukhuede returned to the group in 2024, the company has focused on strengthening its capital base, expanding digital banking and also building stable revenue streams. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, Access Holdings posted gross earnings of N2.49 trillion ($1.7 billion), up from N2.19 trillion ($1.5 billion) a year earlier. Its total assets also increased to N42.45 trillion ($28.8 billion), while retained earnings rose to N1.34 trillion ($919.4 million), thus reflecting growth across its business segments.
