By Olufemi Jacob

Access Bank Group is in a jubilant mood. It’s about to open its rights issue through which it hopes to raise a whopping N356 billion that would shore up its capital base above the mandatory N500 billion. Just as the executives were working hard to finalize the fine details of regulatory requirements, the group received two pieces of exciting news last week.

First, the Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, was honoured with the prestigious African Banker Lifetime Achievement Award.“The honour was presented at the African Banker Awards gala dinner and awards ceremony held in Nairobi, Kenya, on the sidelines of the 2024 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank, and in the same week, the bank was recognised, for the third time, as Nigeria’s most valuable brand, according to the latest data from Brand Finance.