Bidvest Group has concluded an agreement for the disposal of 100% of Bidvest Bank Holdings to Access Bank for R2.8-billion.

Bidvest Group CE Mpumi Madisa says that, as a well-respected, experienced and prominent financial services entity, she is very confident that Access Bank will ensure Bidvest Bank's sustainability and prosperity.

“The deal provides an exciting future for Bidvest Bank, enabling it to advance, scale up and grow in today’s fast-changing, technology-driven and highly competitive financial sector,” she adds.

Access Bank is a full-service commercial bank with more than 60-million customers globally, serviced through a network of over 700 branches in 23 countries across three continents.

Through its strong presence in Nigeria, 16 subsidiaries in Africa and the UK and representative offices in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, India and France, Access Bank employs more than 8 400 people.

As a diversified financial institution, it combines a strong retail customer franchise and digital platform with deep corporate banking experience to service various markets through four business segments: retail, business, commercial and corporate.

Access Bank has proven risk and capital management capabilities. At the last reporting period ended December 31, 2023, the bank’s shareholders’ equity exceeded $1.7-billion with customer loans and deposits of $6-billion and $12.5-billion, respectively.

Access Bank has been operating in South Africa since 2021 following its acquisition of Grobank Limited. In South Africa, its strategy has expanded to align with the vision of becoming Africa’s gateway to the world, and the world’s most respected African bank.

Bidvest Group will continue to support Bidvest Bank until the sale process is complete.

“We will honour our responsibility to ensure that the business remains financially sound and operationally stable during the transition period, keeping the relevant regulators and relevant stakeholders informed throughout the process,” Madisa says.

The disposal of Bidvest Bank forms part of the broader restructuring of the Bidvest Group’s Financial Services division.

This restructuring has also resulted in agreements now signed for the sale of the FinGlobal and Bidvest Life businesses.

Bidvest Group has concluded an agreement to dispose of 100% of FinGlobal to Momentum Group, while there are binding offers from existing life insurers for Bidvest Life, one of which should advance to an agreement in the coming weeks.