MON NOV 09 2026-theGBJournal| Access Holdings Plc is pursuing a capital restructuring programme involving its foreign banking subsidiaries as it seeks to resolve outstanding regulatory requirements that have constrained dividend distributions to shareholders, even as the financial services group recorded improved earnings in the nine months ended September 30, 2026.
The group disclosed in its unaudited results that it had identified six banking subsidiaries from which capital would be recalled to bring Access Bank’s investment-in-subsidiaries ratio within the 10 per cent threshold prescribed under Section 19(8)(c) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA).
The exercise represents an important step in the group’s efforts to optimise capital deployment across its international banking network and restore its capacity to distribute dividends.
Access Holdings said the recall process had been completed in one subsidiary, while shareholder approvals had been secured in four of the remaining five.
Regulatory approvals are being pursued across the outstanding subsidiaries, with management expressing confidence in completing the programme within the Central Bank of Nigeria’s prescribed compliance timeline.
Access Bank’s international banking franchise spans 14 African countries.
The significance of the exercise becomes clearer when viewed against the group’s earnings contribution from these markets.
Operations outside Nigeria accounted for 82.2 per cent of Banking Group profit before tax during the nine-month period.
International banking subsidiaries contributed 43.7 per cent, while the rest of Africa accounted for 38.5 per cent.
Nigeria contributed the remaining 17.8 per cent.
Despite the regulatory challenge, Access Holdings recorded an 8.3 per cent increase in Profit Before Tax to N667.4 billion, while Profit After Tax rose 5.9 per cent to N474.2 billion.
The performance was supported by improved earnings quality, particularly a 73.5 per cent reduction in impairment charges to N92.9 billion.
Consequently, net interest income after impairment increased by 32.1 per cent to N1.20 trillion.
Net fee and commission income also grew by 12.4 per cent to N534.9 billion, while core operating income increased 5.4 per cent to N1.83 trillion.
However, operating expenses rose 11.8 per cent to N1.3 trillion, highlighting the importance of the group’s ongoing efforts to improve operating efficiency and capital productivity.
The dividend issue remains particularly significant for investors.
Access Holdings had previously explained that the absence of a dividend for the 2025 financial year was not attributable to weak earnings but to outstanding regulatory approvals.
With the earlier compliance requirement under Section 7.1 of the CBN Guidelines for Financial Holding Companies resolved, the BOFIA investment restriction has become the outstanding regulatory hurdle to dividend distributions.
Successful completion of the capital recall programme is therefore expected to remove a significant obstacle to future shareholder distributions, although any dividend payment would remain subject to the necessary regulatory approvals and the group’s financial position.
Analysts tell the G&B Journal that the exercise represents an important transition from building an extensive international banking franchise to ensuring that its growing geographical reach translates into improved capital efficiency and sustainable returns for shareholders.
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