Page 36 - ACCESS BANK ANNUAL REPORTS_eBook

Mobile Network Operators, their trade partners and deal- We have developed strategic partnerships with several De-
ers, key vendors and original equipment manufacturers, velopment Finance Institutions for the purpose of provid-
and their entire value chain over the years. With our bou- ing medium to long term innovative and sustainable fund-
quet of products and services tailor-made to suit the pe- ing solutions at very competitive pricing to eligible clients.
culiar banking needs of players in the sector and our robust These include notable relationships such as the Nether-
value chain strategy, we ensured we consolidated on our lands Development Company (FMO), European Investment
reputation as the bank of reference in this sector. Bank (EIB), African Development Bank (AfDB), International
Finance Corporation (IFC), Deutsche Investitions- und En-
Access Bank will continue to deploy resources to these twicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) amongst others.
sectors, as it is our firm belief that these will remain key driv-
ers of economic transformation in Africa in the foreseeable
future.
Treasury Group
The Treasury team, provides innovative solutions which are
Financial Institutions Group not of only necessary for the sustainability of our business,
but our customers as well. This guided our transactions
The Financial Institution Group is your “One-Stop Financial and interactions with customers in the course of the year.
Services Shop.” We manage business relationships with We proactively offered hedging solutions to our teeming
Financial Institutions, including leading Development and clients, including Forwards, OTC Futures and Swaps that
Investment Banks as well as Insurance companies, Pension provided the much needed foreign currency (FX) liquidity
Funds, Stockbrokers, Registrars and Trustees among oth- for our clients, whilst mitigating risks in a volatile FX envi-
ers. ronment.
Our team provides Global Relationship Management Ser- In the course of the year, we organized an FX seminar to
vice offerings including Settlement and Correspondent assist market participants’ – customers and regulators –
Banking Services, Cash Management, Trade and Project Fi- come up with ideas on moving the FX market forward. Our
nance. We also offer structured hedging solutions such as Fixed Income team rolled out more best-in-class services
FX Futures, Forwards and Swaps. via prime brokerage, sale and repurchase agreements and
other yield-enhancing products for both local and foreign
Some of the key strategies deployed by the Group in 2017
FY include: currency assets. We were in the forefront of market de-
velopment, offering possibilities that redefined the whole
• Hosting a first-of-its-kind Broker-Dealer Forum for spectrum of transaction negotiation, initiation and execu-
prime brokerage customers. The forum was designed tion. This ensured that Access Bank consistently topped
to create awareness for this market segment and also the Financial Market Dealers Quotations league table.
ensure closer engagement with market regulators in a
bid to standardize market practices and create room We developed a web-enabled Treasury Bills Platform that
for new entrants thus achieving further expansion of allows retail customers invest in Treasury Bills from the
this segment. comfort of their homes via their mobile device on the Bank’s
website. This innovation was engendered by the increased
• Launching Bank One Correspondent banking applica- awareness and consequent demand for such Fixed Income
tion software designed to replace the laborious man- securities over the past couple of years. We also leveraged
ual process in our correspondent banking service with the social media to disseminate real time financial market
an innovative automated end-to-end process. updates to our customers.

• Offering cheque truncation services; this process en- We believe the future will be shaped through innovation and
abled the reduction of paper usage. In addition to this, are poised towards achieving this.
we implemented a cheque truncation option embed-
ded into our PrimusLite platform.

Project & Structured Finance

Our Project and Structured Finance (PSF) Group is a leading
and evolving financial advisory, debt arranging, and agency
services provider. The Group supports the Bank’s clients by
providing a full range of tailored financial solutions by lever-
aging the expertise of its experienced staff and strong re-
lationships with local and international financial institutions
and professional service firms.

36 Access BAnk Plc
Annual Report & Accounts 2017