The merger is also expected to strengthen both institutions leveraging on their combined market share of 9.9 percent and customer base of over 40 million in four East African countries/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 27 – The merged entity between Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and NIC Bank will now trade under a non-operating holding company named NCBA Group PLc following the approval by Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
According to CBK, the banking business in Kenya of the merged institutions will operate as NCBA bank Kenya, Plc.
The merger is expected to strengthen both institutions leveraging on their combined market share of 9.9 percent and customer base of over 40 million in four East African countries
On Asset base, the combined bank will be amongst the largest financial institution in the East African region with an asset base of Sh444 billion about 100 branches and shareholders’ equity of Sh65 billion.
“All account holders, depositors, employees, creditors and other stakeholders of the existing institutions should deal with NCBA Bank Kenya PLC and NCBA Group PLC,” CBK says in a notice.
The two banks first proposed the merger to their boards of directors in December last year, with the approval of Capital Markets Authority.
CBA has been operational for over 50 years and is wholly owned by a group of institutional and individual investors with extensive business interests in Kenya and East Africa.
It has invested in both banking and non-banking subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
As at June 30, 2019, CBA had a market share of 5.6 percent. NIC was established in 1959 as an asset finance company and obtained a commercial banking license from CBK in 1995.
It merged with African Mercantile Bank Limited in 1997. It has a presence in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. As at June 30, 2019, NIC had a market share of 4.3 percent.
Earlier this month, the central bank also approved KCB Group, the region’s biggest bank by assets, taking over National Bank of Kenya.
