KCB, NBK merger to create giant bank Sh1 trillion assets

KCB, NBK merger to create giant bank Sh1 trillion assets

FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019 10:15

A National Bank of Kenya branch in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

The planned merger between Kenya’s biggest lender by assets, KCB Group,  and the State-owned National Bank of Kenya (NBK)  is set to create a giant bank whose combined balance sheet is expected to hit Sh1 trillion in three years.

KCB, which also operates in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, last month offered to buy NBK through a share swap of one KCB share for every 10 of NBK.

The lender said Thursday in the latest circular to shareholders it expects the takeover deal to close by October this year, subject to approval from the shareholders of the two banks as well as local market regulators.

KCB proposes to maintain NBK as a standalone subsidiary of KCB Group for a period of two years post-acquisition and thereafter fully integrate NBK into KCB Bank Kenya.

The combined giant lender will tower over rivals both locally and in the region with a mega balance sheet of Sh828 billion as per the two lenders’ December 2018 disclosures.