Canary unveils five-year growth plan, to join commercial banking

Canary Point Holding Limited and its subsidiaries have outlined a five-year strategic plan aimed at restructuring its financial operations to enhance productivity, profitability and evolve into a full-fledged commercial bank.

This was stated during the official induction of the company’s board of directors, where newly appointed board members and trustees of its subsidiaries were inaugurated.

The subsidiaries are Assets Microfinance Bank Limited, Canary Point Finance Limited, Canary Point Capital Limited and the not-for-profit Canary Foundation. The directors were formally introduced to their roles.

Speaking on the company’s growth aspirations, the Managing Director of Canary Point Holding and Subsidiary Group, Idris Ibrahim, said the vision of becoming a commercial bank centre around three key entities.

He listed them to include retail banking through Assets Microfinance Bank, high-net-worth individuals (HNI), and corporate banking via Canary Point Finance and asset management under Canary Point Capital.

Ibrahim said the consolidation of the individual businesses would provide the foundation for raising capital for expansion, preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) and acquiring a commercial banking licence.

He emphasised the company’s vision to continuously invest in people, technology and processes to drive innovation, maintain competitiveness and reinforce a customer-centric approach.

Ibrahim provided an overview of the group’s steady evolution since its inception, tracing its expansion from a Bureau De Change (BDC) licence in 2009 to a diversified financial services powerhouse.

He listed key milestones to include, the acquisition of Swift & Allied Partners’ Lenders License in 2012, marking an entry into structured financial services and the purchase of Assets Microfinance Bank in 2017, strengthening its retail banking capabilities.

Ibrahim noted that the group also acquired new licenses for Canary Finance in 2023 and Canary Capital in 2024 as well as rebranded Swift & Allied Partners into Canary Finance in 2024.

He said the group divested from BDC and international money transfer operator (IMTO) licenses in 2024 to focus on long-term banking goals of becoming a full-fledged commercial bank.

He said under its growth strategy, Canary Point Corporate Services was restructured into Canary Point Holding in 2024, holding its inaugural board meeting in July 2024.

Welcoming the new board members, the Chairman of Canary Point Holding and Subsidiary Group Board, Kayode Lambo, emphasised the significance of their appointments, highlighting their collective responsibility to drive the organisation forward. He explained that the induction programme is designed to equip board members with the necessary knowledge to make informed strategic decisions.

“Beyond governance, we must foster trust, communication, and collaboration to ensure the long-term success of our entities,” Lambo stated.