Banking
Merger: Access Bank, Diamond Bank Shareholders Meet March 5
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has directed the board of Diamond Bank and Access Bank to convey separate meetings to allow their respective shareholders to make decisions on the proposed merger between both financial institutions.
Diamond Bank, a tier-2 company, and Access Bank, a tier-one lender, are planning to become one entity for improved services and earnings.
However, before that can come to fruition, shareholders of the two companies must approve the ‘marriage.’
On Thursday, Justice O Oguntoyinbo fixed Tuesday, March 5, 2019, for shareholders of the banks to hold their respective court-ordered meetings.
Business Post gathered that its own meeting will take place at Grand Banquet Hall, Civic Centre on Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, Victoria Island, Lagos at 10am.
For Access Bank, its meeting is scheduled for Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos at 10am also.
The court said for the Access Bank meeting, Chairman of the board, Mrs Mosun Belo-Olusoga, Mrs Ajoritsedere Awosika, who is a director of the company or any other director appointed in their stead by the shareholders present at the meeting will act as Chairman of the said meeting.
At the meeting, shareholders would be required to vote to either approve or disapprove the proposed merger between both organisations.
It was emphasised that voting will be by poll and shareholders may vote in person or appoint another person to exercise their rights.
Thereafter, details of proceedings must be sent to the court for appropriate actions.
For the Diamond Bank meeting taking place simultaneously, Chairman of the board, Mr Dele Babade; or Mr Chris Ubosi, who is a director of the lender, or any other director appointed in their stead by shareholders present at the meeting will take charge.
At the Access Bank meeting, shareholders will vote to consider if “the Scheme as contained in the Scheme Document dated the 24th, day of January, 2019, a printed copy of which has been submitted to the meeting and, for purposes of identification, endorsed by the Chairman, be and is hereby approved; and that the Directors be and are hereby authorised to consent to any modification of the Scheme that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and or the Court shall deem fit to impose and approve.”
“That the Directors be and are hereby authorised to accept the transfer of all the assets, liabilities and undertakings including real properties and intellectual property rights of Diamond Bank Plc upon the terms and subject to the conditions set out in the Scheme Document, without any further act or deed.”
“That as consideration for the transfer of all the assets, liabilities and undertakings including real properties and intellectual property rights of Diamond Bank Plc, the Directors be and are hereby authorised to; allot the Scheme Shares to Diamond Bank Shareholders upon the terms and subject to the conditions set out in the Scheme Document, without any further act or deed; and pay the sum of N1.00 (One Naira) per share for each issued and paid-up Diamond Bank ordinary share held at the date of the Court-Ordered Meeting.
“That the Solicitors of the Company be and are hereby directed to seek orders of the Court sanctioning the Scheme and the foregoing resolutions, as well as such other incidental, consequential or supplemental orders as are necessary or required to give full effect to the Scheme.”
“That the Directors be and are hereby authorised to take such actions as may be necessary to give effect to the Scheme including but not limited to the listing of the Scheme Shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.”
For Diamond Bank shareholders, they will vote, “That the Scheme as contained in the Scheme Document dated the 24th, day of January, 2019, a printed copy of which has been submitted to the meeting and, for purposes of identification, endorsed by the Chairman, be and is hereby approved; and that the Directors be and are hereby authorised to consent to any modification of the Scheme that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and or the Court shall deem fit to impose and approve.
“That the transfer of all the assets, liabilities and undertakings including real properties and intellectual property rights of the company to Access Bank Plc, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set out in the Scheme Document, be and is hereby approved without any further act or deed.
“That all legal proceedings claims, litigation matters pending or contemplated by or against the company be continued by or against Access Bank Plc after the Scheme is sanctioned by the court.
That in consideration of the (2) above, all shareholders of the company shall, after the Scheme is sanctioned by the court, be allotted two ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in Access Bank Plc ‘(credited as fully paid)’ in exchange for every 7 ordinary shares of the company of 50 kobo each (the share consideration); and be paid N1 for every share held in the company (the cash consideration) withi 10 business days of the court sanction of the scheme.
“That the entire share capital of the company be cancelled and the company be dissolved without winding up.
“That the solicitors of the company be and are hereby directed to seek orders of the court sanctioning the scheme and the foregoing resolutions, as well as such other incidental, consequential or supplemental orders as are necessary or required to give full effect to the scheme.
“That the directors of the company be and are hereby authorised to take such other actions and steps as may be necessary or required to give full effect to the scheme.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The international spending limit on the GTBank Naira card has been increased by the financial institution to $40,000.
This information was revealed by the lender in an email to customers on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The banking subsidiary of GTCO Plc disclosed that the new offshore spending limit is for a quarter.
This development comes as the Nigerian foreign exchange (FX) market is witnessing stability against the United States Dollar.
The forex volatility experienced a few years ago has eased, allowing companies and others to plan within a reasonable exchange rate band.
“The Dollar limit on your GTBank Naira Card is now $40,000 quarterly,” the tier-1 commercial bank said in the message sighted by Business Post.
Improvement in forex liquidity in the domestic FX ecosystem has allowed Nigerians to use their local cards to complete financial transactions on foreign platforms, which was not possible a few years ago because of Dollar scarcity and arbitrage.
At the official market on Tuesday, the exchange rate closed at N1,364/$1. It was exchanged at N1,367/$1 at the GTBank FX desk and N1,395/$1 at the parallel market.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) is investigating the University of Lagos, Lotus Bank, and Hackerbella Limited over alleged violations of data protection laws.
The probe followed public complaints alleging that students’ personal data was used to open bank accounts without a lawful basis.
The NDPC disclosed this in a statement signed by its Head of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations, Mr Babatunde Bamigboye, on behalf of the commission.
According to the commission, its chief executive, Mr Vincent Olatunji, directed the investigation team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the circumstances surrounding the collection, use and disclosure of the affected students’ personal data.
The investigation will also determine the roles and responsibilities of the university, the bank, and the information technology solutions firm in the alleged data processing activities.
The NDPC said the probe would assess the compliance obligations of the three organisations under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, as well as the potential risks posed to the rights and freedoms of the affected students.
The commission said the investigation would cover several areas, including Data Protection Impact Assessments, the lawfulness and transparency of credit scoring or profiling activities, automated decision-making systems, privacy notices and data-sharing arrangements.
It will also examine the lawful bases for processing the students’ information, data minimisation, purpose limitation, retention policies and the adequacy of technical and organisational safeguards for protecting data subjects’ rights.
The commission stressed that institutions handling the personal information of students, staff and other members of their communities have a greater responsibility to ensure such data is properly protected.
“Institutions entrusted with the personal data of students, staff and other members of their communities have a heightened responsibility to ensure that such data is processed lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely,” the NDPC said.
The commission also warned educational institutions that have yet to comply with its existing data protection directives to take immediate steps to meet the required standards.
“Accordingly, the NDPC warns educational institutions that are yet to comply with its existing data protection compliance directives to do so immediately,” the statement added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In 2025, Access Holdings Plc lowered its operational emissions by 28.47 per cent by growing its green asset portfolio to N92.15 billion, though still far from its N475 billion target.
Details of its 2025 Sustainability Report showed that operational emissions fell to 49,352 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from 57,176 tonnes in 2024, supported primarily by branch solarisation across 263 locations and the deployment of 323 solar-powered ATMs, largely across Access Bank in Nigeria.
The organisation applies the operational-control approach under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, accounting for emissions across its African footprint, with Access Bank representing the largest share.
The report reinforces its strategic shift from scale to value by showing how sustainability is being embedded in capital allocation, risk management, product development and operations.
During the year, Access Holdings deployed N72.3 billion under its Sustainable Finance Framework to eligible environmentally beneficial projects and grew its cumulative sustainability-focused loan book to $1.269 billion.
Beyond environmental outcomes, the report highlights the group’s contribution to inclusive economic participation.
In 2025, Access Holdings extended access to finance to 2,528,117 low-income individuals and onboarded 78,438 new MSMEs onto its financing platform.
Across the institution, 2.8 billion transactions were processed during the year, underscoring its role as core financial infrastructure for Africa’s real
economy. Gender-lens lending also progressed, with 354,156 loans extended to women and women-owned businesses, totalling N67.4 billion, equivalent to 24 per cent of the relevant loan portfolio.
Its Corporate Social Investment programmes reached 2,439,480 beneficiaries across education, health, entrepreneurship and the environment, delivered with partners, including UNICEF, HACEY Health Initiative and the Kenya Forest Service.
Employees recorded 359,500 volunteer hours with 100 per cent participation, while more than 50,000 trees were planted. The group notes that 2025 community figures follow a board-mandated tightening of its impact-measurement methodology and are not directly comparable with prior years. Women represent 49 per cent of the workforce, and the Access Holdings board comprised nine directors with 44.4 per cent female representation. Employee satisfaction rose to 87 per cent against an 80 per cent target, while attrition eased from about 13 per cent to about 11 per cent.
For the second straight year, Access Holdings reported zero material regulatory penalties relating to sustainability and zero cybersecurity breaches.
It mobilised $185.38 million, equivalent to N266.83 billion, in concessional funding from development finance institutions during the year and allocated a sustainability budget of N4.8 billion from profit before tax.
Sales-facing staff in the banking subsidiary carry green-portfolio targets within their individual performance measures, linking strategic sustainability goals to day-to-day execution across governance, strategy, risk management, capital allocation, products and operations.
To strengthen credibility and comparability, the report was prepared using the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, specifically IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, as the primary framework, with the GRI Standards (2021) and the SASB Standards applied as complementary references.
“Our 2025 Sustainability Report reflects the discipline with which we are converting scale into value. We reduced operational emissions by 28.47 per cent,
grew our green asset portfolio to N92.14 billion and extended financial access to about 2.5 million low-income individuals.
“These outcomes show that sustainability is not separate from our business; it is central to how we create value, manage risk and support inclusive growth across Africa,” the chief executive of Access Holdings, Mr Innocent Ike, stated.
Looking ahead, the company promised to deepen the measurable impact of its sustainability agenda, accelerate the transition of its portfolio towards low-carbon and climate-resilient assets, and grow the green asset portfolio towards the N475 billion target.
