Nedbank Group Ltd., South Africa’s fourth-largest bank by assets, has announced plans to sell its 21.2% stake in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), bringing an end to a 17-year partnership that expanded its presence across Africa.
“The board has approved a formal plan to dispose of the investment, and we are currently engaging interested parties,” the lender said in a statement, quoted by Bloomberg.
“This change represents a reset of our strategy on the rest of the continent with a clear focus on the Southern African Development Community and East Africa regions in businesses we own and control.”
Nedbank Chief Executive Jason Quinn said a review recognised the risks of continuing to hold onto the group’s investment in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) due to regulatory uncertainty and a potential increase in capital requirements
Nedbank took the decision to sell after a year-long strategic review that led to the reclassification of the Ecobank stake as a financial investment, from a strategic holding, which would need to be managed to extract maximum shareholder value.
Nedbank also announced profit rose in the first half as fee growth boosted revenue and lower credit losses cut impairment charges.
Headline earnings climbed 6% to 8.4 billion rand ($469 million) in the six months through June, it said. The lender’s impairments shrank 18% to 3.82 billion rand. The drop in bad debts has allowed the lender’s credit loss ratio to drop to 81 basis points, falling within the board-approved target of 60 basis points to 100 basis points for the first time since 2023.
Nedbank declared an interim dividend of 10.28 rand per share, surpassing a median estimate of 9.95 rand.
Observers say Nedbank’s stake sale could open the door for strategic investors seeking to strengthen Ecobank’s presence in both Anglophone and Francophone West Africa.
What you should know
Ecobank recently released its unaudited Q2 2025 financial results for the period ended June 30, 2025, posting a pre-tax profit of N352.92 billion.
This represents a 45.86% year-on-year increase, and 32% growth compared to the first quarter of 2025, reflecting the bank’s sustained momentum and improved performance across its diversified markets.
In July, credit rating agency Moody’s upgraded Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s (ETI) outlook from “negative” to “stable”.
In the report, the rating agency affirmed the financial institution’s B3/Not Prime long- and short-term issuer ratings; B3 senior unsecured debt rating; b2 notional Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA); and b1 Adjusted BCA.
Also, at the same time, rating analysts at Moody’s said that they had changed the outlook on the group’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to stable from negative.
ETI’s subsidiaries operate across 38 countries, including 35 African countries, and have total assets of $28.9 billion as of March.
