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Access Bank Plc yesterday took over the operations of Intercontinental Bank Plc to become one of the biggest banks in Africa following the approval of shareholders of both banks. The merger was also sanctioned by the Federal High Court of Nigeria and approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities & Exchange Commission of Nigeria. Access has thus acquired 75 percent majority interest in Intercontinental Bank and all the assets, liabilities and undertakings. However, the full integration of Intercontinental into Access would take place in the second quarter of 2012. In the interim, Intercontinental will operate as a high performing subsidiary of Access Bank Plc, fulfilling all obligations to customers and other stakeholders. A statement from Access also announced the completion of the change of control processes for Intercontinental�s banking operations within Nigeria It added that Access was working with host regulators to conclude change of control processes for its international banking subsidiaries including Ghana. The statement added that Intercontinental Bank now operates as a well-capitalized bank, with shareholders funds of N50billion and Capital Adequacy Ratio of 24 percent, well above the 10 percent regulatory threshold. This follows the combined effect of the restoration of Net Asset Value to zero by Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and N50billion capital injection by Access. The recapitalization process began in December 2009 when the Central Bank of Nigeria found Intercontinental Bank Plc as one of the eight banks that had failed a stress test, putting it in a state of liquidation. During the transaction finalization board meeting and ceremonies on Friday October14, 2011, the retiring board of Intercontinental reconstituted its membership upon the request of Access. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede was retained as chairman of Access while the members were Herbert Wigwe, Taukeme Koroye and Paul Usoro. The rest were Obinna Nwosu, Ojini Olaghere and Segun Ogbonnew. Victor Etukwu takes over as the new man in charge of Intercontinental Bank effective last Friday. He was Access Bank�s General Manager in charge of Merger and Acquisition. According to reports monitored by CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE, a send-off party was organized for the former board and CBN-appointed management last Friday. Aig-Imokhuede told reporters in Nigeria that it was important to tap into the experience and expectation of Intercontinental Bank customers and those of Access Bank to transform the new bank into a world-class service delivery. The integration will follow that of Ecobank and The Trust Bank (TTB).