The Commercial International Bank of Egypt (CIB) has completed the 51% acquisition of Tier III lender Mayfair Bank, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) confirmed on Friday.
CBK has approved the transaction allowing the London Stock Exchange (LSE) listed lender to assume 51% shareholding on May 1, 2020.
The Egyptian Bank which controls assets worth USD24.18 billion (Ksh2.45 trillion) will be the first lender from its nation to set up presence in the country.
Mayfair Bank on the other hand controls assets worth Ksh8.2 billion and operates 5 branches in Nairobi, Eldoret and Mombasa. The small lender’s clientelle consists of High Net Worth individuals and corporates.
According to CBK, the small lender boasts of 0.17% marketshare and will be instrumental in the Egyptian Bank’s plans to grow its presence in the country and the East African region.
The plan is for CIB to provide the necessary resources required to scale up Mayfair’s operations and grow it gradually from a small lender to a medium one with the view that it can grow into a large lender in the long term.
CIB is listed in the Egyptian Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange and trades over the counter at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Its business model leans towards Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), institutions and corporates.
Consolidation
CBK Governor Dr Patrick Njoroge has been advocating for small and medium Kenyan banks to merge in order to achieve resilience, the latest deal he says will diversify and strengthen the resilience of the Kenyan banking sector.
