Ecobank

Ecobank was founded in 1985 to address the financial needs of West African entrepreneurs. The initiative originated from the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce, aiming to establish a private regional banking institution. Key figures Gervais Koffi Djondo and Adeyemi Lawson played a crucial role in realizing this vision, which was first discussed in Mali in 1972.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) was incorporated with an authorized capital of $100 million, with an initial paid-up capital of $32 million from over 1,500 investors across West Africa. The ECOWAS Fund for Cooperation, Compensation and Development became its largest shareholder, reinforcing its regional mission.

In 1985, ETI signed a Headquarters Agreement with the Government of Togo, granting it international organization status and the privileges to operate as a regional, non-resident financial institution.

ETI has two key subsidiaries:

Ecobank Development Corporation (EDC) focuses on investment banking and advisory services across Ecobank's markets. It operates brokerage houses on all three West African stock exchanges and holds licenses for the Douala and Libreville exchanges in Central Africa.

eProcess International manages the Group's IT operations, aiming to centralize middle and back-office functions to enhance efficiency, improve service quality, and reduce costs.

As of December 2012, ETI's customer base was estimated at 32 million. ETI's branch network numbered 1,305, with 1,981 networked ATMs.

Group network

As of June 2014, Ecobank Transnational had banking operations in 36 African countries, with representative offices in Angola, Beijing, Dubai, Ethiopia, South Africa and the United Kingdom:

Ecobank Transnational has operational bank subsidiaries in the following countries, as of July 2013:

Subsidiaries

The Specialized subsidiary companies of Ecobank include the following:

EBI SA Groupe Ecobank - Paris, France

Controversies

Ecobank has been marred by several well publicized governance lapses:

The sacking and reinstatement of the CFO in 2014 after she alleged: "... Mrs. Do Rego sent a letter to the SEC alleging that the Chairman, Mr. Lawson and GCEO Mr.Tanoh were attempting to sell non-core assets at values below market, that both individuals ‘attempted’ to manipulate the 2012 results to enable the Group (ETI) to show a much better 2013 growth, and she questioned procedures around the approval of a substantial increase in Mr.Tanoh’s 2012 bonus (which he subsequently opted not to receive). She also alleged that she was asked to write off debts owed by a real estate company Mr. Lawson chairs..."

The Chairman resigned but later sued Ecobank to force them to investigate the allegations backed by an confidential E&Y audit report on serious allegations of Fraud.

"As the Chairman of the Board at the time the EY investigation was commissioned, I instructed my lawyers to write a letter to the Board expressly warning them of the illegality of presenting these accounts to the shareholders without making full disclosure of the facts. This letter was delivered to board members on the 26th June 2014 (See Appendix 1). Unfortunately the letter was ignored by the Board of ETI and this obvious dereliction of duty continues to date."

Ecobank then settled the matter with the chairman and absolved him of any wrongdoing.

In December 2024, a $68 million claim was launched in Dubai against Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Transnational Inc, and ETI's subsidiaries; ETI Special Resolutions Company (ETISRC), and its Managing Director, Oladele 'Dele' Alabi; Ecobank Nigeria Limited (commonly referred to as Ecobank Nigeria), on allegations of defamation, abusive proceedings, and coercion in Nigeria.