nedbank eyes nigeria
04 June 2008

Nedbank has applied for a banking licence in Nigeria, according to Siphiwe Cele, a bank executive, who made the announcement at the Nigeria/South Africa business forum in Cape Town.

He took advantage of the presence of the presidents of both Nigeria, Umaru Yar'Adua, who is in this country on a three-day state visit, and of South Africa, to ask for their encouragement.

Sanusi Daggash, the Nigerian minister for national planning accompanying his president, reassured Cele, saying all the bank needed to do was fill in the right forms and the licence would be granted.

Daggash also told him that there is plenty of banking infrastructure available across the country, because of banks that had to withdraw from the market because they did not manage to provide sufficient asset resources to satisfy the regulators.

Michael Hamlyn,  I-Net Bridge,  http://business.iafrica.com