Kiboro, who joined Family Bank just a day after he stepped down as the chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya, said he plans to raise the bank’s capital through various “financial engineering options/CFM
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 2 – Family Bank is eyeing Tier One status in the next five years, which it hopes to achieve under the leadership of newly appointed chairman designate Wilfred Kiboro.
Kiboro, who joined Family Bank just a day after he stepped down as the chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya, said he plans to raise the bank’s capital through various “financial engineering options.”
“We have started by going for the Rights issue, the second point is going for the IPO. There are also other financial arrangements like debt financing, which if we can get on concessionary rates, would be good, as well as engaging fund managers,” he said.
Family Bank seeks to raise Sh1.5 billion through the Rights Issue for expansion and also plans to list at the Nairobi Securities Exchange before the end of next year.
Kiboro said the bank is also considering South Sudan and Rwanda as new markets, while also having a branch in every county in Kenya.
The bank currently has Sh35 billion in assets, 1.2 million customers and 67 branches countrywide, with speculation that it is poised to be the next Equity Bank.
Since its inception in 1984, Family Bank operated as a building society that gave loans to tea farmers and then expanded to small business owners and civil servants.
Privy to the fact that both Equity Bank and Family Bank target the poor and previously un-banked, Kiboro, dismissed the notion that the institution was seeking to infringe on any one bank’s market share.
“I think Equity Bank is very admirable. They are our big brothers, but we think there is space to grow to their level. Equity is a big bank now and is playing at a level at which we can’t because of our under-capitalisation. There is a niche in this particular market which we will exploit through a strategic approach,” he explained.
On his part outgoing chairman and founder Titus Muya, who served at the helm of Family Bank for the last 28 years said he is confident Kiboro will take the bank to the next level.
“When you’ve been at an organization for so long, you start to feel like you want to call it a day. I’m glad we were able to convince Kiboro to come and join Family Bank. The sky is the limit,” he said.
Muya also gave up other posts held at Daykio Plantations and Kenya Orient Insurance.
