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Africa: Intercontinental Bank, Others to Dominate Continent - Soludo

Vanguard (Lagos)




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Vanguard (Lagos)

23 September 2008
Posted to the web 23 September 2008

Peter Egwuatu

Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Professor Chukwunma Soludo said Nigerian banks are on the threshold of becoming the dominant financial drivers in the African continent.

The cerebral governor credited for the successful re-engineering of Nigeria's banking industry, said the increasing inroad Nigerian banks are making in the global arena with the establishment of offshore subsidiaries in key European countries, is a clear indication that the dream of Nigeria becoming Africa's financial hub is beginning to take shape.

Soludo who addressed dozens of international journalists in London during the opening of Intercontinental Bank UK office, said the aggressive global expansion drive by Nigerian banks is in line with Nigeria's plan to become one of the world's emerging economies in the next 10 years.

"This pace of development is imperative not only in the banking industry but in the entire economy if we plan to catch up with the rest of the developed economies. We must leap_frog to bridge the gap. We must be moving at faster pace", he said.

The Central Bank governor commended Intercontinental Bank for its consistent stellar performance over the years saying the Bank was among the emerging Nigerian multinationals driving the private sector led economic growth the country.

"I remember in 2007 when Intercontinental Bank was listed on the top 500 banks in the world as number 350 it was an overwhelming development, the first of such landmark in the history of Nigeria's banking industry and indeed in the world having also been named as the second fastest growing bank in the world. Today more Nigerian banks have entered the top 500 list while almost all Nigerian banks are now in the list of world's top 1000 banks", Soludo said.

Intercontinental Bank has set its sight on becoming the number one bank in Nigeria, number one in Africa and among top 100 in the world. Soludo said the bank has already gone far in realizing this big vision with the opening of the UK subsidiary.

However, he urged the bank not to rest on its oars adding that the journey was still long and expressed confidence in the ability of the bank to make it.

Intercontinental Bank Plc, one of Nigeria's most prominent financial institutions, recently opened its first European office located in London. The opening marks the bank's continued international expansion that began in 2006 with opening of Intercontinental Bank Ghana Limited and is set to include every continent.

"The opening of Intercontinental Bank's London office _ the first outside of the African continent_ signals our continued commitment to emerging as one of the top 100 banks in the world," said Group Chief Executive for Intercontinental Bank, Dr. Erastus Akingbola. "Our London subsidiary will enable Nigerians, other nationals and organizations within and outside of the United Kingdom to execute seamless financial transactions in the UK."

The London location will offer wholesale banking services in the UK, including trade services business such as letters of credit, collections and guarantees, structuring and funding of structured trade, and project finance transactions, as well as arrangement of funding for group entities.

"A London presence is critical for the bank's future expansion and will allow the organization to capitalize on opportunities in all segments of our business, both retail and wholesale," said CEO of Intercontinental Bank UK, Marcus Hopkins, who previously served as executive director and head of Capital Markets for Moscow Narodny Bank. "We are confident that the bank will be a valuable addition to the London banking landscape, continuing its mission to help its stakeholders build and preserve wealth."
http://allafrica.com/stories/200809230482.html

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Posts: 3423 | From: the jungle - when y'all stop playing games, call me. | Registered: Jul 2006  |  IP: Logged | 

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Originally posted by Doug M:
Name one country on earth that is NOT corrupt.

Just one.

And banking and corruption go hand in hand. Ever heard of the financial bail out?

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I think: The FACT that the corruption only goes on because people are too lazy to find out how "money" works is the JUSTIFICATION for its continuation.

I'm off to an Indian bank (UK office) right now to get me some money printed out of thin air. Yay!

Posts: 1819 | From: odesco baba | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged | 

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Originally posted by Alive-(What Box):
I wanna know how money works?! Where do I start? Books?! Where?

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Posts: 3423 | From: the jungle - when y'all stop playing games, call me. | Registered: Jul 2006  |  IP: Logged |