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SIA Group founder and chief executive Jean Kacou Diagou is reshaping the banking side of his West African financial group, shifting senior roles and tightening oversight as competition heats up across the region.
The changes center on NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire, the group’s flagship lender, and its capital markets unit, NSIA Capital, formerly known as NSIA Finance. Africa Business+ reported that Gomez Konan, who had been running NSIA Capital, moved into a new director role within the banking arm effective Jan. 1.
NSIA has been reorganizing its structure since the Diagou family increased its control of the holding company, NSIA Participations, last year. The family investment vehicle, Manzima Holding, lifted its stake to 68.73% after buying out the National Bank of Canada’s position, Ecofin Agency reported.
In an interview with Financial Afrik, NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire Managing Director Léonce Yacé said the group is pursuing a governance overhaul that consolidates banking and insurance under dedicated structures. He said NSIA Participations and Manzi Finances are set to merge into a single top holding company that will keep the NSIA Participations name.
The banking arm is also staffing up. In July, NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire named Sékou Chérif Sanogo as deputy managing director in charge of support functions, according to Capmad. Sanogo was tasked with strengthening cross functional operations as the lender prepares to expand into Cameroon.
NSIA’s push comes as the lender reports steady growth. In its third quarter 2025 update, NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire said pre tax profit rose 6% to CFA 27.66 billion (about $49.4 million), while outstanding loans climbed to CFA 1.77 trillion (about $3.16 billion) and customer deposits reached CFA 1.97 trillion (about $3.52 billion). Total assets stood at CFA 2.83 trillion (about $5.06 billion), Ecofin reported, with the bank flagging a cautious strategy focused on risk and cost control.
Internal publications from the group show the wider ambition. An NSIA magazine issued in 2025 said the group’s banking business held a 5.2% market share in the West African Monetary Union area and ranked among the largest banking groups in the zone, based on a 2022 banking commission classification.
Diagou, a veteran of the insurance industry who built NSIA into a bancassurance player across multiple African markets, is betting that tighter governance and a refreshed leadership bench will help it defend margins, grow regionally and attract capital in a tougher rate and regulatory environment.
