KCB Group shareholders today approved a proposal to acquire 100% of the issued ordinary shares of National Bank of Kenya Limited (NBK) via share swap.
This approval followed the offer made by KCB Group on April 18 2019 to acquire 100% of the Shares of NBK by way of a share swap of 10 ordinary shares of NBK for every 1 ordinary share of KCB. The transaction is subject to regulatory and NBK shareholders approvals.
The acquisition is part of KCB’s ongoing strategy to explore opportunities for new growth while investing in and maximizing the returns from our existing businesses.
“For us, the acquisition is an opportunity to strengthen the deposit base and lending capacity, increase cost efficiencies due to economies of scale and boost transactional revenue through leveraging of technology. NBK maintains a strong deposit franchise and a wide branch network,” said KCB Group Chairman Mr. Andrew Wambari Kairu, adding that: “This is an attractive commercially viable proposition that provides the scale needed to compete and win in the rapidly evolving world of financial service.”
During the 2018 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Nairobi, the shareholders further approved the final dividend of KShs 2.50 per share as recommended by the Board. This brings to KShs.3.50 the total dividend per share and KShs. 10.7 billion as total dividend for the year.
The dividend will be paid on or before July 30, 2019 to shareholders on the register as of close of business on April 29, 2019.
“We delivered on our promises for 2018 on the back of a definite lending strategy and an aggressive digital banking proposition,” said Mr. Kairu. “This success was not without headwinds such as the aftermath of the 2017 electioneering period in Kenya and changes to the regulatory landscape, both somewhat redefining the business growth trajectory”, said Mr Kairu.
The Kenya business played an anchor role, contributing 93% of the Group’s profit after tax of KShs 22.4 billion, a growth of 17%.
The international businesses collectively grew by 64% and together with KCB Capital and KCB Insurance Agency are targeted to contribute at least 20% of the Group’s profit by 2020.
“The overall Group performance culminated in the elevation in market share on loans and advances to 14.6% and customer deposits to 18.0%. The loan growth was boosted by advances of over KShs. 54.4 billion through our mobile products. Concurrently, the transaction concentration mover further onto the non-branch channels, comprising 91% of the total transactions during the year” said KCB Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Joshua Oigara. “Our focus is to proactively support our customers’ growth, enabling businesses to thrive and economies across the East African region to prosper, and ultimately, the realization of financial ambitions,” he added.
KCB Group assured its shareholders of the strong future driven renewed investor confidence and improved performance across all businesses.
