Zenith Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the French Government to establish a subsidiary of the bank in France.
The MoU, which was signed by the founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia and the French Minister for Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Olivier Becht, will enable the lender, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Zenith Bank (UK) Limited, to seek and secure the requisite regulatory approval from the Autorite’ de Controle Prudentiel et de Resolution (ACPR) to establish a strategic presence in France.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, Ovia, expressed excitement about the signing of the MoU with France, adding that he looked forward to securing the licence and starting operations in early 2024.
He commended the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann and her colleagues at the French Embassy in Nigeria for their efforts towards improving French-Nigerian business relations.
Also speaking during the ceremony, Becht, said the deal was undoubtedly a demonstration of mutual confidence.
He said the bank’s decision could among many others be regarded as a milestone in French-Nigerian economic relations and “an illustration of our friendship.”
He noted that the government of President Macron had adopted a pro-business agenda to make France more attractive by undertaking several reforms in labour law, simplifying a lot of procedures and cutting business taxes, corporate taxes and production taxes by more than 25 billion Euros.
He said that the opening of the bank in France would also be an occasion to boost the French-Nigerian business to have more French companies investing in Nigeria and also to have more Nigerian companies investing in France.
