{"id":13913,"date":"2026-11-10T08:15:58","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T08:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/10\/access-bank-puts-transparency-at-centre-of-investor-confidence-amid-regulatory-pressure-businessday-ng\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T08:15:58","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T08:15:58","slug":"access-bank-puts-transparency-at-centre-of-investor-confidence-amid-regulatory-pressure-businessday-ng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/10\/access-bank-puts-transparency-at-centre-of-investor-confidence-amid-regulatory-pressure-businessday-ng\/","title":{"rendered":"Access Bank puts transparency at centre of investor confidence amid regulatory pressure – Businessday NG"},"content":{"rendered":"

Access Holdings Plc is placing greater emphasis on transparency and regular disclosures as it navigates regulatory pressures, particularly requirements governing its investments in subsidiaries and the resumption of dividend payments to shareholders.\n<\/p>\n

At its nine-month 2026 earnings call held on November 5, the financial services group provided details of its compliance position under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), disclosing that its investment in subsidiaries stood at N446.6 billion, representing 19.29 percent of shareholders\u2019 funds, above the statutory 10 percent limit. Management outlined measures to address the gap, including capital recalls from seven markets and minority stake sales in selected subsidiaries, ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria\u2019s March 2027 compliance deadline.\n<\/p>\n

The disclosure forms part of the group\u2019s broader effort to strengthen investor confidence by providing measurable updates on its regulatory obligations and financial performance. Management also acknowledged areas where performance remains below its original full-year 2026 guidance, including return on average equity of 14.1 percent, net interest margin of 4.4 percent and cost-to-income ratio of 63.1 percent. Cost of risk, however, remained within the guided range at 0.51 percent. The group said it would continue to report progress against these targets.<\/p>\n

On corporate governance, management addressed questions concerning directors\u2019 interests in contracts, explaining that such disclosures are regulatory requirements and have been included in the group\u2019s audited accounts. Its first-half 2026 financial statements filed with the Nigerian Exchange contain details of directors\u2019 interests in service providers, while loans to directors and key management personnel stood at N1.26 billion as of June 30, 2026. The loans were disclosed as having been granted at arm\u2019s length, at an average interest rate of 23.75 percent, and secured by collateral.\n<\/p>\n

Management said capital recalls were under way across seven markets, with shareholder approval secured in all seven and regulatory approval obtained in four. One capital recall was completed in October, while three more were expected in November, two before the end of December and another possibly in early 2027. The group is also pursuing minority stake sales in five countries, retaining at least 80 percent ownership in each subsidiary. The first transaction, involving the sale of a 7.44 percent stake in Access Bank Ghana, was completed in July 2026.\n<\/p>\n

The group also faces scrutiny over its operating efficiency and ability to translate its expanded international network into stronger shareholder returns. Operating expenses rose 11.8 percent to N1.30 trillion in the nine months, while management attributed higher staff costs and amortisation partly to integrating businesses acquired in 2025. Access said it expects the benefits of its enlarged network and integration efforts to become more evident in its 2027 results, with a target of raising return on equity above 20 percent\n<\/p>\n

For shareholders, the next test of this disclosure commitment will be the regular reporting of progress on the subsidiary investment ratio, capital recalls and the group\u2019s dividend position. Although Access Holdings has now met Section 7.1 of the CBN\u2019s financial holding company guidelines, management said the BOFIA restriction remains the outstanding regulatory constraint on dividend distributions. The group\u2019s ability to demonstrate progress towards compliance, improve operating efficiency and deliver on its profitability targets will therefore remain important to sustaining investor confidence.\n<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHope Moses-Ashike<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria\u2019s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks.
\n
\nShe also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank\/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings.
\nHer dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Source: <\/p>\n

Businessday NG<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Access Holdings Plc is placing greater emphasis on transparency and regular disclosures as it navigates regulatory pressures, particularly requirements governing its investments in subsidiaries and the resumption of dividend payments… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13914,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}