Lagos — Intercontinental Bank Plc, one of Nigeria's most prominent financial institutions, will Tuesday open its first European office located in London. The opening marks the bank's continued international expansion that began in 2006 with opening of Intercontinental Bank Ghana Limited and is set to include every continent.

"The opening of Intercontinental Bank's London office the first outside of the African continent- signals our continued commitment to emerging as one of the top 100 banks in the world," said Group Chief Executive for Intercontinental Bank, Dr. Erastus Akingbola. "Our London subsidiary will enable Nigerians, other nationals and organizations within and outside of the United Kingdom to execute seamless financial transactions in the UK."

The London location will offer wholesale banking services in the UK, including trade services business such as letters of credit, collections and guarantees, structuring and funding of structured trade, and project finance transactions, as well as arrangement of funding for group entities.

"A London presence is critical for the bank's future expansion and will allow the organization to capitalize on opportunities in all segments of our business, both retail and wholesale," said CEO of Intercontinental Bank UK, Marcus Hopkins, who previously served as executive director and head of Capital Markets for Moscow Narodny Bank. "We are confident that the bank will be a valuable addition to the London banking landscape, continuing its mission to help its stakeholders build and preserve wealth."

In addition to Hopkins, Intercontinental Bank UK executive management team also has Operating Officer in the person Richard Wailes, who most recently served as the head of emerging marketing for Banacci Group in London. The bank's board of directors includes: Group Chairman Dr. Raymond Obieri; Group Chief Executive Dr. Erastus Akingbola; Dr. Olutoyin Phillips, a non-executive director; Chris Duncan, a former client risk director at Barclays Group; Peter Sullivan, former CEO of Standard Chartered Bank's operations in Africa and the UK.

Intercontinental Bank currently operates more than 300 business offices in Nigeria with a subsidiary in Ghana, which was established in 2006 with ten business offices in Ghana's key commercial centers.

Intercontinental Bank Plc was founded in 1989 as Nigerian Intercontinental Merchant Bank Ltd, and is today one of Nigeria's largest diversified financial services companies with subsidiaries in capital market, insurance, stock broking, discount house, finance and mortgage activities.

Intercontinental Bank is in partnership with BNP Paribas, one of the ten largest banks in the world, and cooperate in areas of trade finance, asset management and product innovation. The Bank's shareholders' fund of approximately US$1.52 billion is the largest such fund in the Nigerian banking system and in the top five in Africa.