This archive report was first published on 9 August 2019.
On August 8, 2019, Acting Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani stated in Parliament that the government had full faith in the acquisition of National Bank of Kenya (NBK) by Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group.
Yatani's statement came in response to objections raised by the Departmental Committee of Finance and National Planning regarding the planned buyout through a share swap.
According to Yatani, the government is confident that the consultations will yield positive results for both KCB and NBK, ultimately supporting the bigger agenda of strengthening the financial sector in Kenya.
Henry Rotich, Yatani's predecessor, had been pushing for mergers in the banking sector to create fewer but stronger lenders in the highly fragmented market.
Among the reasons for the push was the presence of too many lenders in the market, many of which were too small to compete, especially in developing new products and competitive pricing of loans and savings.
Following Yatani's statement, KCB expressed optimism that the acquisition, which has been approved by shareholders of both lenders, will proceed as planned.
KCB stated that it was ready to present to Parliament the justification for the takeover, which has been billed as the only lifeline for the struggling NBK.
