Zenith Bank Plc has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the French
Government to establish a subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc in France. The MoU, which was
signed by the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, CFR, and the French
Minister for Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Mr. Olivier Becht on Friday,
November 24, 2023, will enable Zenith Bank, 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, the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim
Ovia, CFR, said, "It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Nigeria and Zenith Bank. I
am indeed very delighted about the signing of this MoU with France. For me, it is an honour
to do this on behalf of the bank, and we look forward to securing the licence and starting
operations in early 2024". He thanked 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, the French Minister for Trade, Attractiveness and
French Nationals Abroad, Mr. Olivier Becht, said: "I want to thank you very much for your
decision to open a branch of Zenith Bank in Paris. We are thrilled to welcome in France
Zenith Bank's first office inside the European Union. For us, that’s a very good signal, and it
is undoubtedly a demonstration of mutual confidence. No doubt also that your vision on
international finance guided you to decide to open this branch and this decision in many
respects can also 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 in order 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, adding that "we hope
that the opening of the branch of Zenith Bank in France will also be an occasion to boost the
French-Nigerian business in order to have more French companies investing in Nigeria and
also to have more Nigerian companies investing in France".
Zenith Bank has continued to distinguish itself in the Nigerian financial services industry
through superior service offerings, unique customer experience and sound financial indices.
The bank remains a clear leader in the digital space, with several firsts in deploying
innovative products and solutions and an assortment of alternative channels that ensure
convenience, speed, and safety of transactions. Zenith Bank also has subsidiaries in
Ghana, Zenith Bank (Ghana) Limited; Sierra Leone, Zenith Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited;
The Gambia, Zenith Bank (Gambia) Limited. The Bank also has a Representative Office in
The People’s Republic of China.
