Access Holdings: Nigeria’s Biggest Bank Value Dips to N1.24trn
Nigeria’s biggest bank by total assets, Access Holdings Plc (Ticker: ACCESSCORP), lost N103.314 billion, or 7.7% of its market value, as investors sold down their holdings amid expectations of a repricing to align with peers’ valuations.
The largest bank by total assets attracted significantly lower market value on the Nigerian Exchange, with consistently huge trading volume, reflecting shareholders’ rotation of positions.
Sentimentally, its leadership believes Access Holdings should not be compared with its peers that have delivered significant value to shareholders over the years, a statement that reverberated across Broad Street.
While the market awaits the next surprise or surprises amidst acquisition restrictions placed by the regulator, Access Holdings has backtracked, trading at a significant discount to its 52-week high.
Access Holding Plc, with 54.375 billion outstanding shares, was valued at N1.239 trillion. At the current price, Access is trading at about a 37% discount to its 52-week high in the Nigerian market.
Stockbrokers maintained that while the stock has strong upside potential, realising the value has been difficult due to a lack of competitive profit performance and, then, investor sentiment.
Recently, equity analysts at CardinalStone Securities Limited raised Access Holdings Plc’s target price to N52.14, citing an improved funding outlook and using a reference price of N25.30.
According to trading data from the Nigerian Exchange, Access Holdings reached an all-time high of N36 per share, and historical data show the group has not clocked N40 since it was listed.
Analysts said financial year 2025 marked a strategic transition for Access Holdings Plc as the institution shifted focus from scale expansion to value creation.
The group has indicated a decision to slow its aggressive acquisition-driven expansion in response to regulatory restrictions, shifting to a more execution-focused phase centred on earnings quality, efficiency, capital optimisation, and sustainable value creation.
Access Holdings failed to create value for shareholders, evidenced by its below-industry capital appreciation and dividend history.
The Group recommended dividend payments in 2025, subject to regulatory approval, for both the half-year and full-year periods, CardinalStone Securities Limited said. However, the required approvals were not obtained.
Access Holdings’ interim dividend payment was denied because the Holdco’s paid-up capital was below the sum of the minimum paid-up capital of all its subsidiaries, which was inconsistent with section 7.1 of the CBN Guidelines for Financial Holding Companies.
According to management, this issue was eventually resolved through a successful private placement at the Holdco level.
Also, the final dividend payment was denied because a separate issue was flagged under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) Section 19.8(c), which limits investments in foreign banking subsidiaries to 10.0% of shareholders’ funds.
Currently, this ratio stands at 19.4%, and ACCESSCORP has been given a 12-month window to remediate this by increasing shareholders’ funds, reducing investments in foreign subsidiaries, or a combination of both, CardinalStone Securities Limited said.
“We maintain our BUY recommendation on ACCESSCORP and revise our 12- month Target Price to N52.14 from N45.12 previously. Our new TP portends a 106.1% upside relative to our reference price of N25.30”.
In the equity report, analysts at CardinalStone Securities Limited said they have conservatively assumed no dividend distribution for 2026, but note that an accelerated resolution of the issue can cascade to a dividend payout of about 30.0%.
