The Central Bank of Kenya has announced the 100 per cent acquisition of Moi-linked Transnational Bank by Nigeria’s Access Bank Plc effective February 1.
The acquisition follows approval from the regulator on December 24 last year under Section 13 (4) of the Banking Act and approval of the Treasury CS on January 6 o the acquisition under Section 9 of the Banking Act.
Transnational Bank started its operations in Kenya as Transnational Finance in 1984— a non-bank, deposit-taking institution — before becoming a full-fledged bank a year later.
It had started to perform dismally before the Nigerian lender placed a takeover offer in September last year.
Transnational Bank, which has assets worth Sh10.2 billion, made a loss of Sh71.8 million in the financial year ended December 2018, down from a profit of Sh36.4 million in the previous year.
CBK says the Kenyan mid-tier lender has 28 branches across the country.
Former President Daniel Moi’s allies linked with Transnational Bank include his long-time aide, Joshua Kulei and Simeon Nyachae. Former Vice President George Saitoti was also linked.
Access Bank on other hand was incorporated on February 8, 1989, in Nigeria, and is currently the largest bank in the Western African economic powerhouse with a total asset base of approximately $16.10 billion (Sh1.61 trillion).
It has subsidiaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Zambia, and the United Kingdom.
The bank also operates representative offices in China, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and India.
‘’Access Bank Plc’s business model mainly focuses on corporate and retail banking and its strong group support is expected to drive Transnational Bank Plc’s business growth for the benefit of the Kenyan economy and the banking sector. The acquisition is expected to strengthen the resilience of Kenya’s banking sector,’’ CBK said in a statement.
Access Bank joins a growing list of Nigerian banks already operating in the Kenyan market including the United Bank of Africa (UBA) and Guaranty Trust Bank.
(Edited by V. Graham)