China will soon welcome Access Bank into its financial market, as the Nigerian bank is in search of a new market to penetrate. This consideration started after the bank’s United Kingdom subsidiary announced a 36% growth in its balance sheet for the year ended December 2018.

The Managing Director of Access Bank UK, Jamie Simmonds disclosed at the Access Bank Polo Day at Guards Polo Club Windsor, that the development to build a representative office in China is in the pipeline.

“We have offices here in the heart of the City of London, Dubai and Lagos and are building our presence in China through a representative office there.”

Apart from recording another success through its partnership with UNICEF by raising funds to support education projects in northern Nigeria, the bank in a statement noted that the 2018 witnessed its emergence as one of three key UK clearing systems. The bank said that the year also saw to its recognition as the best African Trade Finance Bank by both International Finance and CFI. This indicates another year of outstanding international business growth.

THE BIG DEAL
Reviewing the bank’s corporate activities for year 2018, its four strategic business units reportedly returned double digit growth. With only 2 years of operation in Dubai, a 200% increase in its income goes a long way to reflect promising market venture. While some banks struggle with non-performing loans, Access Bank UK boasts of zero ‘non performing loans’ throughout year 2018.

KEY DRIVER
As a community development-driven bank, its success can be linked to the key role played by its involvement in corporate responsibility and exemplary corporate governance. Commenting on the success formula of the bank, Simmonds attributed it to the managerial principles and banking philosophy which puts customers’ interest in the fore and recognises the need for staff development.

“We invest significantly in attracting, retaining and developing professional staff in order to ensure customers always deal with an expert who is familiar with their business and personal financial needs.”

Chairman of Access Bank UK, Herbert Wigwe, commending the progress recorded noted that, “The successes in completing the first decade of trading for Access Bank UK has been a major milestone. Growth has been sustained at the same time as earning a reputation for innovation and flexibility.”

SOURCE: https://nairametrics.com