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Key Points
- Access Bank is close to finalizing its purchase of National Bank of Kenya from KCB Group, pending final approval from Kenya’s central bank.
- Kenya’s Competition Authority has cleared the deal, with Access Bank securing Nigeria’s approval. The last step is Kenya’s central bank approval.
- The acquisition will add NBK’s 77 branches to Access Bank’s network, strengthening its regional presence despite holding only 1.9% of Kenya’s banking market.
Access Bank, the flagship banking unit of Access Holdings, a financial services group led by Nigerian banker Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, is close to finalizing its acquisition of National Bank of Kenya (NBK) from KCB Group. The deal, which has been in the works for months, is now awaiting final approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
KCB Group CEO Paul Russo confirmed the progress on Wednesday, noting that NBK’s performance has already been factored into the group’s 2024 financial results. “We are at an advanced stage of regulatory approval from both sides. I am very confident we are at the tail end,” Russo said during the bank’s FY 2024 results announcement.
Final regulatory approvals underway
Kenya’s Competition Authority (CAK) cleared the deal in October 2024, requiring Access Bank to retain at least 80 percent of NBK’s 1,384 employees for at least a year after the acquisition. Access Bank Kenya, the Nigerian lender’s existing subsidiary, must also keep all 316 of its employees.
KCB Group CFO Lawrence Kimathi said Access Bank has already secured approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), leaving CBK’s approval as the final step. “We extended the long stop date to February this year because we hadn’t gotten all the regulatory approvals,” Kimathi said. “Within that period, we got approval from the CBN, so the only approval remaining is from the Central Bank of Kenya. Access has already written to our regulator, confirming their commitment to closing this transaction.”
Once completed, the acquisition will significantly expand Access Bank’s footprint in East Africa. NBK’s 77 branches in 28 counties will be added to Access Bank’s existing 23 branches across 12 counties in Kenya. Despite the expansion, the combined entity will still hold just 1.9 percent of Kenya’s banking market—far behind major players like Equity Bank, Co-operative Bank, and Standard Chartered Kenya.
Aig-Imoukhuede’s push for expansion
Founded in 1988, Access Bank is one of Africa’s largest financial institutions, with more than 700 branches and 60 million customers across 22 markets, including the UK and Dubai. It also maintains representative offices in China, Lebanon, and India.
Its parent company, Access Holdings, led by Nigerian banker Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, recently secured approvals from the CBN and Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a $228 million rights issue to strengthen its capital base ahead of the 2026 regulatory deadline.
The bank has been aggressively expanding beyond its core markets. It recently opened its first branch in Hong Kong and is preparing to enter Morocco. With the NBK acquisition now in its final stages, Access Bank is set to deepen its presence in East Africa, using strategic acquisitions to build a stronger pan-African network.
