FNB targets Tanzania, Angola, Ghana for expansion

FirstRand Ltd.’s First National Bank, South Africa’s third-largest retail bank, may consider starting units in Tanzania, Angola, Uganda and Ghana after getting a license to operate in Zambia.

“One of the key strategic focus areas of FNB is to grow its profitability by further expanding outside of South Africa,” the Johannesburg-based lender said in an e-mailed statement today.

FNB plans to start its Zambian operations during the second quarter, adding to units in Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho and Mozambique. FirstRand is South Africa’s second- largest financial services company by market value, after Standard Bank Group Ltd., which has operations in 17 nations on the continent.

Source: Bloomberg