Abbey Bank bets on mortgage expertise to expand commercial banking November

Abbey Bank Plc, formerly Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc, will commence commercial banking operations in November 2026, leveraging more than three decades of experience in mortgage financing to expand into construction finance, infrastructure projects and lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The bank, which raised N64.55 billion through a private placement and secured approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in June, plans to broaden its services to corporate, commercial, SME and retail customers while retaining its focus on housing and related businesses.

Mobolaji Adewunmi, managing director and chief executive officer of Abbey Bank, said the transition would enable the institution to serve a wider range of financial needs while building on its existing expertise in mortgage banking and real estate finance.

The bank intends to retain housing-related products, including home-improvement and phased-development financing, while extending credit and digital banking services to businesses operating across the housing value chain.

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The strategy is expected to position Abbey to serve businesses connected to construction and property development, alongside customers seeking broader commercial banking services.

Dipo Adeoye, executive director, treasury and business growth, said SMEs would be a core target market as the bank develops credit products and expands its digital services to meet their operational needs.

“We’ll be leveraging our digital banking team in terms of meeting some of the needs of the SMEs. We’ll be leveraging in terms of collections, in terms of POS, and also we have credit products that we’ve started working on for them to meet their needs,” Adeoye said.

He added that the bank would hold quarterly engagements with SME customers to identify service gaps and improve its offerings.

Beyond lending, Abbey is investing in technology, banking applications and corporate platforms to support its expanded operations. The bank currently operates eight branches and plans to expand its physical presence selectively as it grows its customer base.

Management said the bank had also recruited experienced banking professionals ahead of the commencement of commercial banking operations, while strengthening its operational processes and risk-management framework.

The bank initially targeted N50 billion in capital but raised N64.55 billion, which management said was sufficient for its current regional banking licence. A national banking licence remains a longer-term ambition, with the bank targeting a possible transition within the next two to three years.

The expansion comes as Abbey seeks to reverse a recent decline in customer loans, which management attributed to the transition from its mortgage banking model to commercial banking. The bank expects lending to grow as its new operations develop.

John Okonkwo, executive director, finance, risk and operations, said the bank would strengthen risk management through improved oversight and consistent application of controls.

He said Abbey would focus on identifying, measuring, monitoring and reporting risks to support stable operations as it expands its lending activities.

The bank also plans to differentiate itself through faster decision-making, a deeper understanding of customers and their industries, and improved service delivery, drawing on its experience in housing finance.

Its commercial banking expansion will therefore depend on its ability to translate its established mortgage expertise into broader lending opportunities while maintaining prudent risk management, strengthening digital services and building sustainable relationships with businesses and retail customers.