KCB Widens it’s Horizons in Rwanda

Kenya Cooperative Bank(KCB) will be having more branches in Rwanda after Rwandese authorities approved KCB’s deal to buy Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR) from London-listed financial services firm Atlas Mara Limited.

This comes after an announcement in November by the KCB group confirming that they had signed a deal with Atlas Mara to buy a 62.06 percent stake in BPR and a 100 percent stake in African Banking Corporation (BancABC).

Atlas Mara also made regulatory disclosures that it had obtained approvals to sell its banks in Rwanda and Botswana and was awaiting approvals from Tanzania where KCB Group has also set sights on Afrion Tanzania.

In a regulatory filing posted on its website, Atlas stated that regulatory approval is pending with respect to the transaction with respect to its investment in Tanzania.

“The Company has secured regulatory approval for the transactions with respect to its investments in Rwanda and Botswana, and parties are now in the process of concluding pre-completion conditions,”Atlas noted.

According to KCB Group Chief Executive  Officer and Managing Director Joshua Oigara, the transaction is part of KCB’s “ongoing strategy to explore opportunities for new growth while investing in and maximizing returns from the Group’s existing businesses.

The push for bank acquisitions has seen KCB battle with Equity Bank Group for regional domination in the race for boosting their asset base to over Sh1 trillion.

Owing to the high financial inclusion and digital banking rates, Kenyan lenders have been forced to look outside the Kenyan local markets for growth.

The KCB deal comes months after Equity Bank Group called off its plan to acquire four subsidiaries from Atlas Mara Limited in a move aimed at preserving its capital in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The parties had initiated talks in April last year, but the negotiations targeting Atlas Mara’s units in Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique dragged on until the pandemic hit, a move which led Equity Bank to acquire Belgian tycoon George Forrest’s 66.53 percent stake in Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC)for Sh10.4 billion ($95m).

KCB Bank and Equity Group have been top rivals, battling for a superior customer base and assets to grow market share which has sent them on a trip of regional acquisitions.

By Philly Opere.