Bank of America has appointed veteran dealmaker Simbah Mutasa to lead its investment banking business across Africa, expanding his responsibilities beyond South Africa as the U.S. lender looks to deepen its presence on the continent.

The appointment was announced in an internal memo to employees by Matt Cannon, Bank of America’s head of investment banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Mutasa previously led the bank’s investment banking business in South Africa. In his expanded role, he will oversee deal-making across the continent.

“In his expanded role, Simbah will continue to grow our investment banking franchise across the Africa region,” Cannon wrote in the memo.

Bank of America also promoted Sjoerd van Hooijdonk to lead its investment banking business in the Benelux region while continuing as head of investment banking for the Netherlands.

Mutasa brings development finance experience

Mutasa has more than 15 years of experience in investment banking and development finance, a background that could prove useful as African governments and businesses seek more private capital for infrastructure and other large projects.

He began his career at Citigroup in London, working with its telecommunications, media and technology investment banking team. He later joined Liberty Global, where he advised on mergers and acquisitions, before becoming head of Southern Africa operations for Norfund, Norway’s development finance institution. Mutasa studied at the University of Cambridge and is based in South Africa.

African deal activity picks up

His appointment comes as African capital markets see renewed activity. Sub-Saharan African countries raised nearly $6 billion from international capital markets in the opening weeks of 2026, the strongest start to a year since 2013.

Kenya led issuance with $2.25 billion, followed by Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin and the Republic of the Congo.

Bank of America has already worked on several transactions outside its traditional South African market. The lender acted as joint placement agent for Dangote Fertilizer’s $750 million private fundraising in Nigeria and advised on the sale of stakes in East African Breweries to Japan’s Asahi Group.

Those deals point to the wider opportunities available to international banks as investors look at Africa’s infrastructure, consumer and financial services sectors.

A broader African mandate

Mutasa will now oversee investment banking across 54 markets, each with different regulatory, currency and legal systems.

The challenge will be to build a broader business across major markets such as Nigeria and Kenya while maintaining Bank of America’s position in South Africa, the continent’s deepest capital market.

Competition is already strong. Citigroup has a long-established Africa and Middle East platform and recently won a mandate from Airtel Africa for the planned initial public offering of its mobile money business.

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan remain active in African sovereign debt markets, while Société Générale, BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered have strong positions across French-speaking Africa.

African banks also remain important players in mid-sized transactions, with Standard Bank, Absa and Rand Merchant Bank among the leading names.

Bank of America targets wider reach

Bank of America is a U.S. financial-services company offering consumer banking, wealth management and investment banking. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and led by CEO Brian Moynihan.

Bank of America reported $31.6 billion in revenue and $9.1 billion in net income for the second quarter of 2026.

Mutasa’s promotion gives him a wider platform to build Bank of America’s African business. The test will be whether the bank can turn its established South African franchise into a more meaningful presence across the rest of the continent.