Nigeria was Mobius’s biggest country holding as of Dec. 31, accounting for about 13 percent of the Templeton frontier fund. The nation’s All-Share Index surged 40 percent last year after Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi removed soured loans from banks and encouraged takeovers.
Net income at Access Bank, which fell 47 percent in 2010, rebounded 41 percent the following year and increased at a 43 percent annual pace in the third quarter of 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The lender trades for 1.1 times net assets, versus an average of 1.5 for regional peers. Its 50-day volatility of 29 compares with 31 for Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. lender by assets. The Charlotte-based bank has gained 60 percent in the past 12 months and has a market value of $123 billion.
“These markets are tomorrow’s emerging markets,” Sidani, whose $57 million Schroder Frontier Markets Equity fund returned about 19 percent last year, said in a Jan. 14 phone interview. “They’re offering great growth prospects.”