This archive report was first published on 22 May 2020.
On May 22, 2020, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) gave its approval for the acquisition of Imperial Bank assets valued at Sh3.2 billion by Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), along with the assumption of liabilities of the same value.
As a result, starting June 2, 2020, depositors with sufficient collateral will receive a total of Sh3.2 billion over a period of four years. This marks a significant milestone in the recovery process, with depositors set to have cumulatively recovered 37.3 percent of their deposits since 2015 when payments commenced.
The approval comes after KCB reduced the portion of the loan book it intends to take over from the collapsed Imperial Bank to Ksh3.5 billion, down from an initial target of Sh10 billion. The bank had previously identified Sh5 billion worth of loans for takeover before cutting the target to Sh3.5 billion.
Imperial Bank went under receivership in October 2015 due to inappropriate banking practices, and the CBK placed it under the management and control of the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC). In December 2018, the Central Bank appointed KCB as the agent of KDIC to disburse funds to the depositors.
