Ecobank Transnational Inc. (ETI), has said it is likely to seek banking licenses in two more Portuguese-speaking countries on the continent next year.

The Chief Executive Officer of the organization Mr. Thierry Tanoh who disclosed this while speaking with newsmen yesterday at the African Securities Exchanges Association conference in Abidjan Ivory Coast’s commercial capital stated that what they are trying to do is really to strengthen their network in lusophone countries.

Ecobank, which trades on three African exchanges and operates in 35 nations on the continent, already, has operations in Portuguese-speaking Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe. The Lome, Togo-based bank doesn’t operate in Mozambique and only has a representative office in Angola, another former Portuguese colony in Africa.

The CEO noted that the bank plans to continue to expand organically particularly in East Africa, adding that they need to reinforce some of their affiliates with more resources and that East Africa is an area where more resources are needed.

Ecobank reported in October that profit increased 65 percent to $250 million in the nine months through September as its businesses in Nigeria and Ghana expanded.

The Bank’s Chairman Kolapo Lawson plans to step down on Dec. 31 amid allegations of fraud that are being investigated by Nigeria’s capital markets regulator.