Pan-African lender Ecobank grew too fast in a short space of time, its biggest shareholder said on Wednesday, potentially signalling a slowdown in the rapid expansion that has taken the financial institution to 35 countries. Elias Masilela, chief executive of the Public Investment Corporation, said the bank, whose chief executive Thierry Tanoh was ousted by the board on Tuesday, needed to devote as much attention to governance as to growth.
"The institution grew too fast in a short space of time. They needed to have taken stock at some point and thought about internal issues instead of focusing on the expansion programme only," he told Reuters in an interview. "It would seem like the expansion programme preoccupied everything." Ecobank's board removed Tanoh following months of internal division after Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into alleged breaches of corporate governance.
The PIC, which has an 18.35 percent stake in the bank, has been a vocal critic of Tanoh and in a March 1 letter called for his dismissal to prevent "the death of a pan-African dream". Masilela said Ecobank needs to stabilise as it emerges from growth and will face a hard task integrating its investments.
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