Experts Says Yes to Access Bank Shares, Predicts Growth

Analysts at United Capital Plc, an investment banking group, have said Access Bank is a good stock to buy given its recent acquisition and series of adjustments made to its strategies.

The analysts said the bank that recently expanded its operations to Cameroon, Kenya, Zambia and South Africa has the possibility of double-digit capital appreciation of about 14 percent.

“We expect Access Bank to sustain top and bottom-line expansion in 2021. While non-interest income growth should taper going forward, as the economy stabilises, we imagine that rebounding asset yields, supported by massive balance sheet size and gains from expansion activities, should spur interest income growth,” United Capital stated.

The experts said the bank’s well-diversified loan book is expected to sustain asset quality and thus keep non-performing loans and cost of risk within prudential limits.

Therefore, the analysts expect pre and post tax profits to remain stable in 2021, a continuation of 13 percent pre tax profit growth filed in 2020.

“As such, in addition to the already concluded acquisitions, plans are currently in place to enter Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Angola, Namibia and Ethiopia. A sum of $60 million was paid to acquire south Africa’s Grobank, a major milestone in the bank’s foray into the south African market and a critical factor in driving intra-African trade by widening its trade finance operations,” United Capital stated.