Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), the largest bank in Kenya is planning to finalize the acquisition of Imperial Bank, a bankrupted financial institution put under trusteeship in 2015, in September 2018.

“The central bank has said they are okay for us to proceed and finalize it. We expect that to be finalized by the end of September”, Joshua Oigara, chief executive officer of KCB, declared.

The banking group present in five countries, in East Africa, did not provide the modalities of this acquisition. It should, however, be noted that the discussions between KCB and Kenya Central Bank were initiated months ago. In H1, 2018, its after-tax profits grew by 18% to reach Ksh12.1 billion.

It is also worth noting that KCB is not the only bank which expressed its interest in buying Imperial Bank. Indeed, Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Ltd also sent an offer.

Chamberline Moko