Samuel Addae Minta has stepped down as the Chief Executive and Country Managing Director of Access Bank Kenya after overseeing its transformation into a booming regional lender during the nearly three years he has been in the top ranks of the global banking powerhouse, which operates across three continents and serves over 60 million customers.
Mr Minta, a chartered accountant and certified treasury professional, joined the Nigerian multinational commercial bank owned by Access Bank Group as the CEO in March 2022 before being appointed the Regional Managing Director responsible for East and Central Africa the same year.
As a long-time executive in the banking and finance industry, having served as Director at Stanbic Bank Botswana, Chief Financial Officer at Stanbic Bank Zambia, and Chief Operating Officer at Standard Bank Group South Africa, Mr Minta in 2 years and seven months, built a small regional lender into a national player. Under his leadership, Access Bank Kenya reported a 50.8% increase in its asset base, reaching Ksh14.8 billion by June 2024.
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Sources familiar with his resignation revealed that his exit came as a surprise. The board, though caught off-guard by the timing, accepted his decision despite not being immediately prepared to name a successor. It is, however, reported that he had already discussed the matter with the chairman and a small group of directors prior to his announcement on October 5.
Looming over his departure are broader questions about the future of Access Bank Kenya. Like other commercial banks in the country, Access Bank has faced challenges in expanding its market share, particularly following the failed acquisition of an 83.4% shareholding in Sidian Bank Ltd from Centum.
“The completion of the proposed transaction was subject to the fulfilment or waiver of certain conditions before the Long Stop date as defined in the transaction agreement,” Access Corporation stated in January 2023. “Although regulators have been supportive, certain conditions precedent were not met, and the parties were unable to reach an agreement to achieve the desired outcome.”
Most recently, the bank announced that it would acquire the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) from KCB in an all-stock transaction valued at Ksh13.3 billion – a deal that would merge two of the largest commercial banks in the country.
The successful completion of the transaction is subject to conditions that are customary for transactions of this nature, including receipt of all regulatory approvals from, amongst others, the Central Bank of Kenya, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the COMESA Competition Commission, and notifications to other relevant regulators.
Notably, the acquisition of NBK by Access Bank PLC will be one of the first tests of regulatory scrutiny on bank deals since Nigeria’s Central Bank raised the minimum capital requirements for international banks from ₦50.0 billion (Ksh4.1 billion) to ₦500 billion (Ksh40.9 billion).
Founded in 1968, NBK has been a subsidiary of KCB Group PLC since September 2019, following KCB’s acquisition of 100% of its shareholding from the Government of Kenya.
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