The Bank of Kigali (BoK) representative office in Kenya has been closed.
The closure of the office, according to a statement by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) takes effect from April 2, 2024.
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in a statement on Friday termed it a voluntary termination following a strategic decision taken by BoK’s parent company Kigali Group Plc.
CBK said the parent company had decided to focus more on digital service delivery channels.
CBK authorised the establishment of the Bank of Kigali’s Representative Office in Kenya on February 12, 2013.
It became the first foreign bank from the East African Community to be granted authority to operate a Representative Office in Kenya.
"The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) announces the cancellation of the authority granted to the Bank of Kigali (BoK) to operate a Representative Office in Kenya under Section 43 of the Banking Act, effective April 2, 2024," CBK said.
"The voluntary termination of BoK’s presence in Kenya follows a strategic decision taken by the Bank of Kigali Group Plc (BoK’s parent company) to focus more on digital service delivery channels," the statement reads.
Bank of Kigali Limited is a public commercial bank incorporated in the Republic of Rwanda and regulated by the National Bank of Rwanda.
The bank engages mainly in personal banking, business banking and micro-lending.
Currently, the bank has forty branches in Rwanda and is listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange.
According to CBK, representative offices of foreign banks only serve as marketing and liaison offices for their foreign parent banks and affiliates and are not permitted to undertake banking business.
Announcing the authorisation in February 2013, CBK said the Bank of Kigali Limited through its Representative Office in Kenya was seeking to explore potential business opportunities in the country to evaluate the prospects for a long-term presence in Kenya.
BoK, headquartered in Kigali, is a banking institution founded in 1966, licensed and supervised by the National Bank of Rwanda under the Law governing the organisation of banking.
The Government of Rwanda controls majority shareholding in the bank while the remaining portion is held between institutional and retail shareholders.
Bank of Kigali is also cross-listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.