Nigeria’s Access Bank to Sell Down Foreign Units After Central Bank Order

Access Holdings Plc, a Nigerian lender with operations in at least 24 countries, plans to reduce its equity stakes in some of its foreign units to comply with new central bank rules limiting external investments by local banks.

The Central Bank of Nigeria ordered banks to limit equity investments in foreign subsidiaries to no more than 10% of total shareholders’ funds, Roosevelt Ogbonna, chief executive of Access Holdings’ banking unit, said on an investor call in Lagos. It has 12 months to comply, he said Tuesday.