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Access Bank, a major Nigerian lender, has announced that it sold its minority stake in Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers in compliance with the regulations of the Central Bank of Nigeria, according to a statement released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Friday.

The bank said it sold its 17.65 per cent stake in Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers to the company’s majority shareholder – Stanbic IBTC Holdings. The lender said the sale will allow it comply with the CBN’s updated bank licensing regime, which bars holders of universal banking licences from engaging in non-core banking activities either directly or indirectly.

Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers is Nigeria’s largest pension fund administrator (PFA), with over N1 trillion in assets under management. The PFA has over one million retirement savings account, paying about N2 billion to nearly 30,000 retirees monthly. Since commencing operations in 2006, the pension manager has paid nearly N200 billion to eligible retirees.

Access Bank said the announcement of its divestment from Stanbic Pension Managers is in view of NSE regulations, which requires the disclosure of material non-public information to the exchange.

“We hereby notify the NSE of this transaction in view of the possible material effect it may have on the value of Access Bank’s securities listed on the NSE,” the bank said.