Reports monitored by the Nigerian daily newspaper, The Sun, indicate that Bank PHB Plc has acquired the Gambian-based International Bank for Commerce (IBC).

According to the Monday 7th January 2008 edition of the said newspaper, the deal saw the Nigerian bank paying $23 million for a 74 per cent stake in IBC, also known as Banque Mauritanienne pour le Commerce International  (BMCI), a part of the Abass Group of Companies with its headquarters in Mauritania.

It could be recalled that the International Bank for Commerce was incorporated as a limited liability company in The Gambia after acquiring the BICIS Bank in August 1997 with the aim of providing high quality banking services to the general public and corporate bodies, facilitating international trade and financial transactions for its customers, contributing to the socio-economic development of The Gambia, as well as to the economic revival of The Gambia.

Bank PHB already has a strategic regional and continental expansion programme which remains a key part of its strategy aimed at providing widely acceptable products and services to international clients, engaging effectively in offshore banking and facilitating international trade flows with Nigeria.

The Sun also revealed that Bank PHB has initiated a bid to acquire another bank, First International Bank (FIB), based in seven West African countries, for $120 million. Though the owners of the bank rejected the offered price, sources however, hinted that discussions are still ongoing.

As it is now, Bank PHB has become the fourth Nigerian Bank after First International Bank (FIB), Guaranty Trust and Access Bank to set up shop in the Gambia. The rapid expansion scheme of the bank may see it spread to other West African countries very soon.