GTBank expands into East African market with acquisition of 70 per cent stake in Fina Bank Group

The Guaranty Trust Bank, GTBank, on Wednesday announced the acquisition of 70 per cent stake in one of Africa’s financial conglomerates, the Fina Bank Group.

The bank said that the acquisition, which would extend its investment frontiers beyond Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Nigeria, followed its successful securing of the regulatory approvals in the East African countries and Nigeria.

GTBank stated that the acquisition of shares in Fina Bank Group was through a combination of capital injection and equity acquisition worth 8.6 billion Kenya Shillings, a development that would result in the fusion of two organisations with expertise in banking.

The GTBank Group has a vast business outlay in Africa and the United Kingdom, with combined staff strength of more than 12,000 workers in Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the U.K.

The bank’s managing director, Segun Agbaje, said that the acquisition was a strategic investment for customers and shareholders. He said with Fina Bank’s enviable banking record in East Africa, their combined strengths with GTBank would help build an attractive portfolio of leading products, services and marketing capabilities.

“We can now deepen existing and future customer relationships with differentiated capabilities to exceed customer expectations and grow market share,” Mr. Agbaje said, pointing out that the merger would also provide the partners with an attractive foothold in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.

Mr. Agbaje also said that the bank would, over the coming months, integrate the operations of the Fina Bank Group into the GTBank system, while assuring the customers that the partnership would not affect its operations and level of service delivery to them.

The Chairman of Fina Bank Group, Dhanu Chandariam, said that the bank was delighted to partner with GTBank, noting that the business combination was consummated because they shared a common philosophy on integrity, governance, and transparency.