BUSINESS MARKETS

Stanbic Taps Joshua Oigara for CEO Job

MARTIN SIELEOct 6, 20221 Mins read3k

Oigara left KCB in May, six months ahead of his scheduled exit. He was replaced by Paul Russo, who previously ran National Bank of Kenya (NBK), a KCB subsidiary.

Joshua Oigara left KCB in May, six months ahead of his scheduled exit. He was replaced by Paul Russo, who previously ran National Bank of Kenya (NBK), a KCB subsidiary. [Photo/ KCB Group]

Stanbic Kenya, Standard Bank Group’s Kenyan unit, is in talks to name former Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) CEO Joshua Oigara as its new CEO, according to a new report by Bloomberg. The five-year term of Charles Mudiwa, Stanbic’s current CEO, will expire in December.

Oigara left KCB in May, six months ahead of his scheduled exit. He was replaced by Paul Russo, who previously ran National Bank of Kenya (NBK), a KCB subsidiary.

Oigara is the prime candidate to take over from Mudiwa at the helm of Stanbic, which posted a 37 per cent growth in profit after tax to Ksh4.8 billion in the six months to June 2022.

The increase in profit from Ksh3.5 billion in H1 2021 was largely attributable to growing revenues on the back of sustained economic recovery, with total income for the half-year rising to Ksh15.2 billion up from Ksh12.4 billion in a similar period last year.

At the time of his exit from KCB, the 47-year old Oigara was Kenya’s second-highest paid executive with a monthly salary of Ksh22 million. He had worked for the lender since January 2013.

He was credited with steering KCB’s growth as its net profits rose from Ksh14.3 billion in 2013 to Ksh34.2 billion as of December 31, 2021. It is the one of only two banks in Kenya with a trillion-shilling balance sheet, with the other being Equity.

Oigara graduated from the University of Nairobi (UoN) with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and also has an MBA from Edith Cowan University. Besides KCB, he has served in senior finance roles at Bidco Africa, Bamburi Cement and the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA).