Lomé, September 03, 2025-(©AfreePress)- Alain Nkontchou, the Cameroonian financier and former Chairman of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), has re-emerged as the group’s most powerful shareholder. Through his private investment vehicle, Bosquet Investments, Nkontchou acquired Nedbank’s 21.22% stake, bringing his total shareholding to nearly 24% when combined with the 2.86% already held via Enko Capital, the asset management firm he co-founded with his brother, Cyrille. The deal, currently under regulatory review, is expected to receive approval.
Nkontchou inherits a bank at once prosperous and troubled. ETI posted a 23% year-on-year increase in pre-tax profit to USD $398 million in the first half of 2025. Yet shareholders remain disgruntled, with no dividends distributed despite sustained growth. The core of the problem lies in Ecobank Nigeria (EBN)—once ETI’s revenue powerhouse, contributing 43% in 2014, now reduced to a mere 6% in 2024.
Nigeria : the weak link
EBN’s financial health has steadily eroded over the past five years. In July, Fitch Ratings slashed its viability rating to “f”, following an earlier downgrade by S&P to CCC-. The Nigerian subsidiary is non-compliant with capital adequacy requirements and has sought a moratorium on a USD $300 million bond maturing in 2026. ETI has repeatedly intervened, injecting fresh capital and approving debt instruments, including a USD $125 million unsecured bond issued in May 2025 to shore up liquidity.
The Wilben Trade dispute
Compounding these financial woes is a high-stakes legal dispute. Rooted in USD $160 million losses sustained during Ecobank’s 2014 governance crisis, EBN—through its recovery arm, ETI Specialised Recovery Company (ETISRC)—wrongly pursued Wilben Trade and its British CEO, Marcus Wade, despite their minor role in the original transactions. ETISRC’s Managing Director, Oladele “Dele” Alabi, is accused of filing an unfounded criminal complaint in 2022 as leverage for extortion.
In 2023, Alabi allegedly pressed Wade for payment ahead of a USD $500 million Eurobond repayment, suggesting he would drop the charges in exchange. Wilben has since retaliated with a USD $67.8 million civil claim in the UAE, citing defamation and coercion. The case, which names ETI, EBN, ETISRC, CEO Jeremy Awori, and Alabi as defendants, is ongoing, with the next hearing set for this month.
A test of leadership
For Nkontchou, whose personal and professional ties to Nigeria run deep—his wife heads the wealth management firm W8 Advisors—the challenge is existential. His reputation now hinges on stabilizing EBN, resolving the Wilben litigation, and restoring ETI’s credibility in the eyes of investors.
His return signals both opportunity and peril: a chance to cleanse Ecobank’s troubled legacy in Nigeria, or risk seeing his name tied to its decline.
Olivier A.
