Fidelity Bank Plc has announced it has commenced its proposed acquisition of Union Bank UK, as part of its expansion plans.
Fidelity Bank in a regulatory filing issued on the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Tuesday stated that it had entered into a binding agreement for the acquisition of 100 per cent equity stake in Union Bank United Kingdom Limited, for which the Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a letter of “No Objection”.
The transaction is however subject to the approval of the United Kingdom’s Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA).
Commenting on the transaction, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe stated: “This transaction aligns with our strategic plan of expanding our service touchpoints beyond the Nigerian market and providing straight-through services that meet and exceed the needs of our growing clients.”
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The proposed acquisition marked Fidelity Bank’s first foray into the international market and signals yet another milestone in the bank’s increasing profile as a leading African bank.
Fitch Ratings recently upgraded the bank’s long-term issuer default rating (IDR) from ‘B-’ to ‘B’, reflecting the bank’s increased creditworthiness as well as its National Long-Term Rating to ‘A(nga)’ from ‘BBB+(nga)’.
Standard and Poor’s, another global ratings agency had also upgraded the bank’s national scale ratings to ‘ngBBB/ngA-2′ from ‘ngBBB-/ngA-3’ in recognition of its resilience and performance through the cycle.
“The diverse service bouquet and business model of Union Bank UK offered a compelling synergy, and we hope to build on the existing capacity to create a scalable and more sustaining service franchise that will support the wider ecosystem of our trade businesses and diaspora banking services,” Onyeali-Ikpe explained.