This archive report was first published on 27 September 2019.
The Central Bank of Kenya has announced that Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and NIC Bank will begin operating as one entity on October 1, 2019.
The merger follows approval by National Treasury Acting Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani on September 20, in line with Section 9 of the Banking Act.
On August 27, the CBK had also approved the merger, with the new entity to be known as NCBA Bank Kenya PLC.
According to the CBK, the new entity will be a Non-Operating Holding Company, NCBA Group PLC, with the banking business in Kenya operating as NCBA Bank Kenya PLC.
The merger is expected to strengthen both institutions, leveraging on their combined market share of 9.9% and customer base of over 40 million in four East African countries.
As of September 2018, CBA had about 21.5 million deposit accounts, compared to NIC's 116,000 accounts during the same period.
The merged entity will have a presence in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, with CBA having a market share of 5.6% and NIC having 4.3% market share.
As of Q3'2018, CBA had an asset base of Ksh 242.6 billion, while NIC had an asset base of Ksh 201.0 billion.
