This is Follow the Money, our weekly series that unpacks the earnings, business, and scaling strategies of African fintechs, financial institutions, companies, and governments. A new edition drops every Monday.
Deposits at the Kenyan subsidiaries of three of Nigeria’s biggest banks have more than doubled over the past five years, signalling growing customer uptake as the lenders expand their East African footprint through acquisitions and organic growth.
Yet the numbers reveal that while Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), United Bank for Africa, and Access Holdings Plc have East African ambitions, consistently turning them into profits has proven difficult.
The question has become more urgent as Nigerian lenders continue investing billions of naira in foreign subsidiaries. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is also beginning to push banks to limit shareholders’ exposure to offshore operations.
Kenya has long been viewed as the gateway to East Africa, one of the world’s fastest-growing economic regions. East African economies are projected to grow at an average of 5.69% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund’s datasheet.
