The KCB Group, a banking leader in Kenya, plans to acquire a bank in Rwanda and another in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said its managing director.
The GM, Joshua Oigara, who spoke with the press last Friday, did not reveal the identity of the two banks in question. KCB is also planning to open a representative office in China to take advantage of the growing trade links between East Africa and China, he said. Kenyan banks have announced several deals since the government capped commercial lending rates in 2016, reducing their profit margins and forcing them to look for coping strategies.
A few weeks ago, KCB offered to buy the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) for one KCB share against 10 NBK shares in a SWAP operation to help NBK get out of its liquidity problems persistent.
Another rapprochement in sight is that between the CBA group, a private bank, and NIC Bank to form the third largest asset bank in East Africa. Equity Group, the second-largest bank in terms of assets, said last week that it is in talks with Atlas Mara Limited for equity stakes in banks in Rwanda, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania.
