Vista Bank Group
Banking group in Africa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vista Bank is a banking group that operates across several African countries, controlled by Burkina Faso-born financier Simon Tiemtoré. It has been described as one of a new cohort of multinational banking groups in Africa, together with Coris Bank.[1]
| |
 Agency in Ouagadougou | |
| Type | Private bank |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 2021 |
| Headquarters | Burkina Faso |
Area served | Burkina Faso, Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, |
| Key people | Simon Tiemtoré (Founder and controlling shareholder), Yao Kouassi (Chief Executive Officer) |
| Products | Banking services |
| Website | vistabankgroup |
History
In 2016, Tiemtoré set up a holding company in New York City, Lilium Capital, through which he acquired the distressed First International Bank (FIBank), a lender based in the Gambia with operations in Guinea and Sierra Leone,[2] which he renamed Vista Bank in 2021.[3]
In 2020, Vista Bank announced its acquisition of the stakes held by BNP Paribas in two banks, BICIGUI in Conakry, Guinea and BICIAB in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.[4] BICIGUI was renamed Vista Guinée (VistaGui) in July 2021.[5]
In August 2023, Vista announced an agreement to acquire a majority stake in distressed multinational banking group Oragroup based in Lomé, Togo,[2] but the acquisition process failed to obtain regulatory approval and was eventually terminated after a year.[6]
In November 2023, Yao Kouassi, who had served as a senior adviser at Vista Group Holding, was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Vista Bank Group.[7]
In December 2023, Vista announced the acquisition of Société Générale's majority stakes in its respective subsidiaries in Burkina Faso and Mozambique.[8] The latter transaction was finalized in August 2024.[9]
In March 2026, the bank acquired the Agricultural and Commercial Bank of Chad.[10]
