Fitch Ratings has revealed that Access Holdings' foreign subsidiaries contributed 48% of the banking group’s net income in 2025, up from 30% in 2021, marking a significant shift in the earnings profile of Nigeria’s largest lender by assets. The report underscores the impact of the bank’s cross-border expansion, which has also seen the share of group assets held by foreign subsidiaries more than double to 51% from 23% over the same period. This growth aligns with broader trends among African banks seeking to diversify and access trade and financial flows beyond domestic markets.
The findings come from Fitch’s analysis of 14 African banking groups with consolidated assets exceeding $15 billion and subsidiaries in at least five African countries. Access Holdings emerged as the fastest-growing cross-border bank, driven by strategic acquisitions, including the $6.9 billion purchase of Mauritius-based AfrAsia Bank in July 2025. Fitch noted that the acquisition not only bolstered Access’s balance sheet but also provided a lower-risk operating environment compared to many sub-Saharan African markets. The deal added approximately 19% to Access’s consolidated group assets, according to the report.
Fitch highlighted that foreign subsidiaries accounted for 48% of Access’s net income and 51% of its assets by the end of 2025, positioning the bank alongside United Bank for Africa (UBA), whose foreign subsidiaries contributed 77% of group net income in 2025. However, Fitch cautioned that UBA’s figure was inflated by weak domestic performance, while Access’s expansion reflects a more balanced strategy. The report also emphasized the role of the naira’s depreciation in boosting the value of foreign earnings, as well as the impact of regulatory changes that increased domestic loan impairment charges in 2025.
Access’s international strategy is now shifting from expansion to consolidation, according to Fitch. The bank faces challenges in integrating its acquisitions and extracting synergies from its complex network. A key regulatory hurdle is its breach of a rule limiting foreign investments to 10% of shareholders’ funds, which has restricted dividend payments. Fitch expects Access to address this by reducing its stake in some subsidiaries while maintaining full consolidation of operations. The report also noted that the bank’s 2026 results reflected a growing reliance on foreign earnings, with Access Bank UK surpassing the Nigerian operation as the largest single contributor to group profits.
In 2026, Access Bank UK’s profit after tax surged 73.5% year-on-year to N83.8 billion, outpacing the Nigerian operation’s N52 billion. This shift mirrored broader trends: Nigeria’s share of group pre-tax profit fell to 37% in the first nine months of 2025, down from 61% in 2023, while African subsidiaries increased their contribution to 35% from 18%. The UK and other international operations accounted for 28% of earnings, up from 21%. These changes were partly funded by a capital raise aimed at financing acquisitions, including Standard Chartered’s African subsidiaries and National Bank of Kenya.
Fitch attributed Access’s expansion to the withdrawal of regulatory forbearance in Nigeria, which intensified domestic financial pressures. The bank’s strategy also capitalized on the African Continental Free Trade Area, enabling regional lenders to acquire established businesses amid international banks’ reduced presence. Despite its diversification, Nigeria still accounted for 49% of group assets and 52% of net income at year-end 2025, with the UK holding 31% of assets and Ghana contributing 7% of earnings. Fitch noted that the bank’s operating environment assessment of ‘b+’—one notch above Nigeria’s ‘b’—reflects the credit benefits of its geographic spread.
The report emphasized that while diversification reduces concentration risk, it does not eliminate exposure to market-specific challenges. For Access, the next phase involves proving that its international network can generate sustainable earnings and stronger integration rather than merely expanding its footprint. Fitch expects foreign subsidiaries to remain a critical growth driver for African banks as they deploy new capital and navigate evolving trade dynamics. For Access, the test lies in balancing expansion with profitability as it transitions from acquisition-led growth to long-term value creation.
The article was sourced from BusinessDay Nigeria, a leading financial and business news platform in Africa.