(Bloomberg) -- Sofibanque SA is considering expanding outside its home in the Democratic Republic of Congo encouraged by soaring profits last year, Chief Executive Officer Henry Wazne said.

Expansion into neighboring Zambia or Republic of Congo could be attractive for Sofibanque with the right partners, the CEO said in an interview in the southeastern city of Lubumbashi. Another possible target is Guinea, where his brother, Fadi Wazni, is a major player in the bauxite market.

High prices for copper and gold helped Congo’s economy expand 8.3% last year, contributing to record profits for bankers including Rawbank Sarl and a unit of Kenya’s Equity Group Holdings Plc. Congo is the world’s second-largest copper producer and home to one of Africa’s largest gold mines, owned by Barrick Gold Corp. and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. Sofibanque’s after-tax profit rose more than 40% in 2023 to $30 million from a year earlier as its focus on corporate clients benefited from a boom in Congo’s mining industry, according to Wazne. 

“It has proven itself to be a profitable model,” he said. “And I hope at some point we can convince partners to join us to expand the bank into becoming ourself a regional bank.”

Wazne took over Sofibanque with his cousin Abdallah Wazni in 2012 and has increased its total assets to around $1.2 billion from $10 million. The family controls 96% of the bank, with Wazni holding about 88%.

The Lebanese French national born in Liberia, said he would prefer creating a new bank to taking over an existing one.

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“I’d rather go to a market where I don’t have skeletons in the closet and stuff like this and go and do things my way and make sure it works,” Wazne said. “Of course, it takes a little bit longer, but in markets like Guinea or Zambia or even Brazzaville, we have common customers already.”

Wazne wants partners that will buy into Sofibanque’s bespoke service model for its corporate clients, he said. If that doesn’t work, the lender is still open to an outside investor taking over the bank. 

“If you cannot find the partners to fulfill your ambitions, then, just remaining in the DRC, you’re concentrating a lot of money here,” he said. 

Wazne is also pushing the central bank to do local clearing of US dollars to make transactions easier for Congo’s lenders. Bankers have long struggled to find correspondent banks to clear their dollar transactions because of worries about money laundering and corruption and financing conflict. 

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