This archive report was first published on 3 January 2020.
Friday, January 3, 2020, marked a significant shift in the banking landscape as Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and NIC Bank merged to form NCBA. However, this development has cast doubt on CBA's plans to acquire Jamii Bora Bank.
According to NCBA chief executive John Gachora, discussions over the Jamii Bora deal have not emerged post-merger, which has seen the entities focus on integrating NIC and CBA.
"That was a pre-merger conversation with CBA, but at this point I call it a good rumour as far as I know. It has not come up post-merger," said Mr Gachora.
As of January 2018, CBA had made a Sh1.4 billion cash offer to buy out Jamii Bora Bank and hold it privately in addition to having a stake in the merged operations of CBA and NIC. The microcredit business, M-Shwari, was to be spun off to Jamii Bora while NCBA was to focus on corporate and SME banking.
However, the merger between CBA and NIC has seemingly derailed interest in Jamii Bora, which is facing liquidity challenges. The bank's last published financials are for the first quarter of 2018, and it is yet to comply with the Central Bank of Kenya's (CBK) regulatory financial ratios.
