KCB Group To Acquire Imperial Bank

Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has accepted a binding offer from KCB Group for the acquisition of Imperial Bank of Kenya (under Receivership).

This brings the total deposits recovery to approximately 20.3 billion shillings. The Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) was appointed by CBK to assume control of the Imperial Bank in October 2015, following unsound business conditions.

At the date of receivership, Imperial Bank held 58.0 billion shillings in customer deposits with 52,398 deposit accounts and operations in Kenya and Uganda.

The additional 12.7 percent of eligible depositor balances acquired by KCB brings the total recovered sum to approximately 35.0 percent of original eligible deposits held.

This transaction will be key to the recovery of Imperial Bank depositors’ wealth and going forward, market analysts expect voluntary consolidation in the sector, as smaller banks with depleted capital positions and not serving a particular niche are acquired as their performance deteriorates due to the sustained effects of the Banking (Amendment) Act 2015.

“We note that the industry needs fewer but stronger players to ensure the sector remains stable,” said Cytonn in a report.