Access Bank, one of the major financial institutions in Africa, has announced the debut of its custody services, which will provide its prized customers with safekeeping and servicing of their financial assets.
Following the receipt of regulatory licences in December 2022 from both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the company has decided to expand into providing custody services.
Access Bank’s vision is to become the gateway bank into African markets, and the provision of custody services is a critical component of the bank’s ongoing growth and expansion strategy. Custody services also connect with the bank’s purpose.
Customers’ funds will be held in a separate location from the Bank’s proprietary assets thanks to the establishment of a nominee business called Access Investor Services Nominee Limited, which will guarantee the highest possible level of safety and protection for those assets.
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Remarks from Access bank’s CEO and others
Ogbonna Roosevelt, Managing Director and CEO of Access Bank, offered the following statement in response to the recent development:
“The launch of custody services represents a milestone in our mission to consolidate our strong franchise in corporate and investment banking.”
“We are committed to providing Alpha-suite services to our corporate customers, including financial institutions – both bank and non-bank, local, and foreign. As we expand our clientele in this space, we aim to be the preferred partner for businesses looking to access international markets through strategic partnerships.”
Access Investor Services is now officially open for business and has already begun signing up new clients. Bunmi Arowosafe, who is the Head of Access Investor Services (AIS), has expressed optimism about the possibilities, noting that:
“Our customers will benefit from the natural drive that defines the Access brand – leadership, passion for customers, excellence, innovation, and professionalism.”
“We have implemented a comprehensive and robust custody and settlement application that ensures a high level of straight-through processing (STP). Customers can expect a secure communication channel and all-around access to view holdings and track instructions. Moreover, our enhanced IT capability within the Access ecosystem will further augment our custody services.”
Access Investor Services is now officially open for business and has already begun signing up new clients. The Chief Executive of Access InAccess Investor Services provides a full range of custody services to its clients. These services include securities processing, transaction settlement, treasury and liquidity management, and multi-market services. These services are provided through Access Investor Services’ companies and established partnerships.
This growth signifies yet another step towards realising the purpose of Access Bank, which is to deliver great financial solutions and unequalled access to markets for customers located both within the United States and internationally.
About Access Bank
Access Bank Group is the parent company of Access Bank plc, also known simply as Access Bank. Access Bank plc operates as a multinational commercial bank in Nigeria. The nation’s primary banking supervisor, the Central Bank of Nigeria, has granted it a licence to operate.
They began as a corporate bank, but in 2012 they began offering personal and business banking services as well. On April 1, 2019, Access Bank and Diamond Bank completed their merger. Following the completion of its merger with Diamond Bank, Access Bank revealed its new logo, which marked the beginning of a new banking organisation that was significantly larger than before.
In 2021, the bank will have employed more than 28,000 individuals.
As a result of the merger, Access Bank plc is now the largest bank in Africa in terms of customer base, and it is also the largest bank in Nigeria in terms of asset size. It has more than 42 million customers.
Access Bank plc has subsidiaries in Mozambique, Zambia, Congo, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and the United Kingdom as of September 2021. These subsidiaries are in addition to Access Bank plc’s presence in Nigeria. In addition, the Access Bank Group operates representative offices in the countries of China, India, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates.
The bank had an asset base that was greater than US $25.5 billion (NGN: 10,055 trillion) as of the end of June 2021, and the value of its shareholders’ equity was roughly US$1.87 billion (NGN: 775 billion).