Former Barclays boss to head I&M Bank

Long serving I&M Bank CEO Arun Mathur retires and is set to assume other group wide advisory roles

I&M Holdings has appointed Kihara Maina as chief executive officer of I&M Bank Ltd Kenya. The appointment announced by Mr Sarit Raja-Shah, Executive Director of I&M Bank Ltd, takes effect immediately and is aimed at further strengthening the bank’s corporate governance and human capacity.

The appointment is also part of a strategic effort by the I&M  Holdings to accelerate I&M Bank Kenya’s drive to attain a tier one status on the back of innovative products and services. A seasoned career banker, Mr Maina, the immediate Barclays Bank of Tanzania Managing Director, will be taking over from the outgoing I&M Bank Kenya CEO Arun Mathur who retires.  Mr Mathur will be assuming an advisory role within the I&M Bank group.



“This is also an exciting phase of growth for I&M Bank Kenya, as it continues to pursue an aggressive growth agenda spearheaded by a dynamic team of professional managers and robust staffers,” Mr Shah said.

Mr Maina has enjoyed a successful banking career over the last 23 years in various senior management positions. At I&M Bank Kenya, Mr Maina brings on board a wealth of experience, gained on various banking fronts including treasury management, corporate finance, risk, asset and liability management.

Mr Maina said “I am delighted to join I&M Group and be part of the next phase of their exciting growth story. I recognise the excellent work that the dedicated team at I&M have done to build such a strong and well perceived brand that continues to attract customers and clients. It is my expectation that we will continue to see even greater growth in the years ahead.”

An Executive Master of Business Administration Degree Holder from University of Chicago – Booth School of Business, Mr. Maina is also a BSc Mathematics Degree Holder from Moi University.

Over the years, I&M Bank Kenya, has focused on a relationship based approach to banking, helping nurture relationships with some of Kenya’s fastest growing corporate organisations.  The bank has also successfully managed to integrate a formidable suite of retail banking products anchored on its robust Information Technology systems to deliver demand driven digital banking solutions.

Already, I&M Bank Kenya has embarked on a corporate initiative that promotes best practices in sustainable finance. Last year, I&M Bank Kenya posted a pretax profit of Ksh8.75 billion with deposits increasing by 18% to hit a new record of Ksh116.79 billion even as its loans and advances portfolio touched the Ksh114 billion mark.

With an expanding regional network of 33 branches in Kenya and profitable operations in Mauritius, Tanzania and Rwanda, the bank has also been actively rolling out customer focused products and solutions which have accelerated its market penetration.