Post Consolidation, Local Banks Export Banking to UK.

Byline: Lucky Fiakpa

Banking in Nigeria may have assumed a new phase as bank operators now pick United Kingdom as their new destination for business.

A journey started by First Bank of Nigeria Plc., some 26 years ago when it opened shop in London has seen not less than seven banks following suit, most of which happened after the recent banking consolidation exercise. Before the banking consolidation, there were just two Nigerian banks doing business in London - First Bank and Union Bank that went one year after the former had opened shop.

However, since the conclusion of the banking consolidation exercise, the traffic has been on the upwards trend. Zenith Bank was the first to open shop in London post-consolidation. This was followed by the United Bank for Africa, UBA, - UBA Capital, Europe; Guaranty Trust Bank and Access Bank followed in that order and the latest being Intercontinental Bank, which opened shop in the land of the Queen only last week.

The London branch the bank noted, marks the bank's continued international expansion that began in 2006 with the opening of Intercontinental Bank Ghana Limited. "The opening of Intercontinental Bank's London office - the first outside of the African continent - signals our continued commitment to emerging as one of the top 100 banks in the …