Coris Bank, also known by the acronym CBI (for Coris Bank International), is a banking group in Africa with head office in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. By 2024, it had the largest branch network in Burkina Faso.[1] It has been described as one of a new cohort of multinational banking groups in Africa, together with Vista Bank.[2]
Overview
Coris Bank was founded in January 2008 in Ouagadougou.[3] As of 2016, 70 percent of its equity was held by Coris Holdings,[4] an entity established in 2013[5] in Burkina Faso and controlled by financier Idrissa Nassa.[6] By 2024, that stake had declined to 63.6 percent.[7] Coris Holdings is part of the Coris Group, a conglomerate that also has operations in telecoms, mining, and manufacturing.[6]
Coris established a subsidiary in Guinea in 2021.[8] In March 2022, it established a branch in Guinea-Bissau.[9] In December 2023, it acquired the retail banking operations of Standard Chartered in Côte d’Ivoire.[10] In January 2024, it completed the acquisition of the 67.8 percent stake held by Société Générale in its subsidiary in Chad.[11] The acquisition of Société Générale's subsidiary in Mauritania, announced at the same time in 2023, was delayed by a more complex regulatory approval process.[12] Coris Bank also has operations in Benin, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.[9]
The third largest banking group in the West African Monetary Union (UMOA, for l’Union monétaire ouest-africain) with a market share of almost 10%,[13] as of May 2025, Coris Bank international is present in eight West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA, for Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine) countries, as well as in Guinea, Chad and Cape Verde.[13]
See also
- Vista Bank (Africa)
- Ecobank
- Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie
- List of banks in Africa
References
- In Burkina Faso, Proparco and Coris Bank International SA sign a €30 million guarantee for trade finance operations Choose Africa, 2024^
- French Banks’ Exit from Africa to Spur Local Banks’ Growth, Competition Fitch Ratings, 2024/04/26^
- Coris Bank International S.A. Wall Street Journal^
- Burkina Faso - Coris Bank international (CBI) - Project Summary Note African Development Bank, 2022/01/20^
- Coris Holding Coris Holding^
- Matthieu Bos. SRG Graphite Closes First Tranche of $3 Million Equity Financing With CORIS Capital SA Junior Mining Network, 2017/08/31^
- Publication of Circular and Notice of GM - Hummingbird Resources plc London Stock Exchange, 2024/12/05^
- IFC and Coris Bank Partner to Boost Trade Finance in Guinea International Finance Corporation, 2024/03/06^
- Moussa Wandaogo. Coris Bank International : Idrissa Nassa inaugure sa première agence à Bissau OuagaNews, 2022/03/31^
- Nadoun Coulibaly. Coris Bank takes over Standard Chartered retail business in Côte d’Ivoire The Africa Report, 2023/12/20^
- Coris Bank International SA completed the acquisition of 67.8% stake in Société Générale Tchad from Société Générale Société anonyme MarketScreener, 2024/01/30^
- Mauritania: lobbies oppose the arrival of Coris Bank International Frontier Africa Reports, 2023/11/27^
- Maher Hajbi. Africa CEO Forum: Idrissa Nassa, the Burkinabè serial entrepreneur crowned CEO of the Year Jeune Afrique, 2025-05-13, retrieved 2025-12-17^